Poisoning Wave (members of Agalloch, Eye of Nix) share abstract, gothic debut single, “As Fog In Sunlight”
Poisoning Wave, a new collaboration between Jason Walton (Agalloch, Khorada) and Joy Von Spain (Eye of Nix), have released their debut single, “As Fog In Sunlight.” The track is a haunting juxtaposition of avant garde drone, noise and dark ambient with Von Spain’s expressive, gothic vocals. It feels every bit as heavy and powerful as the musicians’ other bands, but delivered without the specific conventions of metal—it’s graceful and mournful, but still leaves an impact.
Walton says of the project, “Amidst the pandemic and the blatant, horrific displays of systemic racism in America this year, I was feeling helpless and despondent. I had been working on a few albums but wanted to do something different. I was experimenting with guitars, synths and various electronics in a way I hadn’t really done before. Upon wrapping up this first track, the news of the killing of Seattle protester Summer Taylor reached me and impacted me greatly. I then revisited this track and made it angrier, more visceral and at that point knew I wanted to ask Joy Von Spain to collaborate with me on this.”
Von Spain adds, “The spirit-laden environment created by Jason in this piece illustrated to me both sorrow and despair, inspiring these lyrics in memory of those who’ve lost their lives in the ongoing battle for racial justice and equal rights. While compelled to sing a lament for those killed and injured, this moment called also for rage at the perpetrators of these horrific acts who typically experience little or no personal repercussions. While we tread a treacherous path throughout the piece, in the resolution of the song we can find a moment of solemn meditation.”
Hear “As Fog In Sunlight” below.
All proceeds from the release of the single will be donated to The Bail Project.
Jeff Terich is the founder and editor of Treble. He's been writing about music for 20 years and has been published at American Songwriter, Bandcamp Daily, Reverb, Spin, Stereogum, uDiscoverMusic, VinylMePlease and some others that he's forgetting right now. He's still not tired of it.