For extreme metal fans, Earthburner is the relentlessly savage entity that Broken Hope's Jeremy Wagner first created in 2002 when BH was entering its "hibernation" period—a hiatus that ended up being longer than Wagner had planned. Earthburner's complete incarnation and long-term game plan has taken years to complete. But that day is finally here...Earthburner has arrived!
In April 2023, Earthburner entered the legendary Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, FL and recorded all of the music for their debut full-length there—11 tracks total. All of the main vocals were recorded at Hypercube Studios in Chicago, IL. Moreover, Mitch Harris (Napalm Death/Menace/Brave the Cold) came on board as an "honorary member" as he contributed his brand of vocals on most of the songs. In addition to Mitch, Earthburner was also honored to have Immolation's Ross Dolan appear on the track, "Necrodisiac," and actor and Vixen Maw vocalist, Jake Cannavale, contributed guest vocals to a cover that Earthburner did of C.O.C.'s "Positive Outlook."
Mixing was handled by mixing-god Scott Creekmore (who had mixed both the Earthburner EP in 2011 and the Broken Hope album Mutilated and Assimilated in 2017). The "digital" version of the album was mastered by the legendary Mike Fuller of Fullersound in Davie, FL while Scott Creekmore mastered the "analog" version of the album.
*As mentioned above, Earthburner will offer two versions of their debut album: (1) a digital version recorded to a Protools HDX System through a Discrete Class A Vintage Neve 8078 console and (2) an analog version which was also mixed on the Neve to a Quantegy GP9 1/2" analog tape!
Regarding Earthburner and their debut album, Wagner (guitars) comments:
"I'm happy to announce that Earthburner is in motion in a big way and now has an album completed...I can't wait for the world to hear this! The album will indeed BURN the EARTH!
"Earthburner has always been some kind of extreme metal mistress to me...it was always on the side and in my thoughts, and I was always dying to dive into it...but life always seemed to get in the way. For a number of years, I was writing and demoing Earthburner riffs that no one had yet heard, and with each passing year, some fans would ask whatever was I going to do with Earthburner (and I yearned to do something to finally answer that question).
"I'm intensely passionate about grindcore and had always wanted to do a genuine grindcore band with my own stamp on it—raging blast beats married up with riffs that make you wanna smash your face through a cinderblock—something that would be a separate monster from Broken Hope in terms of style, genre, tuning, vocals, and pure blasting ferocity. It was my love for bands like Terrorizer ('World Downfall'-era), Napalm Death, Nasum, Repulsion, General Surgery, and Cripple Bastards who all inspired me for decades and really drove me to do something faithful to this über-extreme genre.
(Teaser artwork for upcoming album with alternate Earthburner logo – artwork by Fabrice Lavollay)
"Thanks to my stepson Tyler, and Devin Swank from Sanguisugabogg, they lit a fire under my ass to bring Earthburner back FULL TIME...and here we are. We did it! We now have a full-length album which was produced by Tommy McWilliams and myself. Scott Creekmore mixed the album, and Mike Fuller mastered the digital version of the album (Scott Creekmore mastered the analog version at Mercenary Digital Studios).
"We also documented the entire process of making of the Earthburner album and plan to make offer this as a bonus DVD to go with the album once it's released.
"Regarding the album title, cover art, and more, ALL will be revealed once we have a label. When we decided to record this album, we didn’t have a home for it, so I personally financed the entire recording to keep our vision intact...to do it our way with no interference. Tommy McWilliams and I managed the production and everything else from tracking, mixing, mastering, band photos, and more.
"That all said, we're actively searching for a home for this album and we hope that before long, we will have a label behind this album and ALL will be revealed. Stay tuned!!!
"As we await our 'home' and to share more album info, here's a little teaser for the upcoming album artwork—the cover art and new, alternate Earthburner logo done by the amazing Fabrice Lavollay!"
(Photo – Corey Soria)
