Los Angeles-based noise-mongers Wagemaker releases its sophomore effort, Twegen, via Sweet Cheetah Records on October 31. The first 12 months of digital sales will be donated by the band to The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Preorder it here.

Twegen sees the band make a giant musical evolutionary jump. First, they made the change from a one-person entity to a two-piece unit with the presence of Trevor Rounseville on drums. Roounesville brings a powerful, driving, dynamic fluidity to the low-end dirge that continues to be developed by Thomas Harris as he layers distortion, dirt, murk, and volume to reconfigure the bass into something that is both a lead and rhythm instrument.

The album’s eight new tracks see more refined and accomplished song structures (even with elements of grandeur), yet retain the brutal raw power of the group’s earlier more primitive exercises. Also, vocals are no longer buried beneath effects and obscuring devices, but are presented in clear commanding form as they address the albums overarching themes of the loss and subsequent memories of people, animals, and places of great importance to the song’s creator.

The album was recorded and mixed in a marathon recording session by Andrew Schubert at Golden Beat Studios in Glassell Park, Los Angeles, where the true sound of the band was captured and reinforced to give it full weight and dimension then mastered by James Plotkin for complete audio manifestation.

Listen to ‘Back Ache’ from Twegen below.

Previously, in the fall of 2015 after a seven-year tenure playing bass in the Los Angeles based stoner doom act Yidhra, Thomas Harris formed Wagemaker with the intent of taking elements of doom and sludge, shearing them of their excess, and reshaping them into a compact and agile form closer to punk, hardcore, and the original psychological power of rock ‘n’ roll. At first trying to work within the conventional structure of a traditional band, he soon realized the best way to execute his vision was literally to go it alone.

This took shape as primitive, brutal drum programing overlayed with heavily distorted downtuned bass and highly treated synthetic sounding vocals taking inspiration from both Big Black and The Thrones. This one-person approach immediately became highly productive resulting in the recording of the self-titled eight song album with renowned recording engineer and producer Bill Metoyer (Slayer, C.O.C, Cryptic Slaughter, and Blast). This debut recording would be released in 10-inch vinyl format by the Los Angeles-based Black Voodoo Records in the fall of 2019, in the midst of a number of live performances.

These shows saw Wagemaker playing alongside a variety of different acts such as Solar Wimp, Gale Forces, Watch Me Burn, and Captured By Robots. With the arrival of 2020, just like the rest of the world, Wagemaker’s momentum slowed down immensely, and this led to an extended period of gestation as the band developed into their next phase (and a few failed ones). This evolution primarily focused around incorporating live drums, clear, powerful vocals, and a shift musically towards post-hardcore acts such as the Jesus Lizard and Shellac yet still never quite escaping the dirge of sludge and doom.

After playing with a number of talented drummers and the extensive writing and recording of new material Wagemaker has now established its new thunderous form with the addition of seasoned drummer Jason LaVeris (Lion Fever, The Cinema Eye, Blue Ash Solution). LaVeris brings his focused and weighty playing style into the fold perfectly complementing Harris’ hefty, layered lead bass style and commanding vocals ushering in another chapter in the groups sound.

Photo courtesy of Wagemaker.