Hubardo
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''Hubardo'' is the sixth studio album by American
avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde music, avant-garde elements, including non-stan ...
band
Kayo Dot Kayo Dot is an American avant-garde metal band. Formed in 2003 by Toby Driver after the break-up of Maudlin of the Well, they released their debut album ''Choirs of the Eye'' on John Zorn's Tzadik Records that same year. Since then, Kayo Dot' ...
. It is a
concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...
double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...
self-released and funded through pre-orders on frontman Toby Driver's Ice Level Music in 2013. It is the follow-up to ''Gamma Knife'', which was released in 2012. It is Kayo Dot's longest album and its first double album, and contains aspects of
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
,
post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
and
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
. It was picked as the 4th best album of 2013 on
indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by in ...
website SputnikMusic. ''Hubardo'' was co-produced by Driver and longtime producer
Randall Dunn Randall Dunn is an American record producer, audio engineer, composer, and musician. As a music producer, he has worked with artists and filmmakers including Danny Elfman, Jim Jarmusch, Panos Cosmatos, Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie, Guillermo De ...
. Occasional collaborator and former
maudlin of the Well Maudlin of the Well (stylized as maudlin of the Well; commonly abbreviated as motW) is an avant-garde metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their music contains elements from many different genres including progressive rock, psychedelic rock, ...
vocalist Jason Byron recorded his first vocal performance since 2001's maudlin of the Well album ''
Leaving Your Body Map ''Leaving Your Body Map'' is the second studio album recorded by the American avant-garde metal band maudlin of the Well. It was released on August 31, 2001 by Dark Symphonies, alongside its companion album ''Bath''. Background ''Leaving Your Bod ...
'' on the song "The Black Stone". He also wrote the lyrics for the album and a 40-page book, entitled "The Sword of Satan", packed with the
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
copy of the album detailing the story behind ''Hubardo''. After leaving
Hydra Head Records Hydra Head Records was an independent record label specializing in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experimental ...
and releasing ''Gamma Knife'' independently, Driver
crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...
the album entirely through pre-orders on
independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties aff ...
website
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
. Shortly after the release of the album, Driver announced that he was in the process of producing a triple LP "super limited black vinyl" that was limited to 200 pressings which contained a 40-page book detailing the concept behind the album entitled "The Sword of Satan" written by Jason Byron.


Writing and recording

After leaving Hydra Head, Driver felt that "labels were not interested in what I was doing". He said that the return to the more metal-based sound of early Kayo Dot albums was sparked prior to the making of ''Gamma Knife'' because he felt frustrated with "bland, unthoughtful, weak metal coming out and receiving acclaim." The budgets for ''Stained Glass'' and ''Gamma Knife'' were minuscule, thus limiting the scope in which those projects could be conceived; however, with ''Hubardo'', the group had a set budget that was considerably larger, allowing the band to create an album on a grander scale. Additionally, Driver was able to dedicate his time to writing the album due to a lack of day job. Due to increased repetition and an aspect of catchiness, they characterized the album as "pop". The album was recorded at Randall Dunn's studio in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington after receiving a sizeable amount of funding from their crowdfunding attempt via the group's
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
page. This reportedly allowed the group much more flexibility to undertake such a large project. Unlike past albums, the entire live band performed on the record. Driver plays the bass guitar on the album, as well as synthesizers, piano, and organ. Shortly after the release of the album, longtime collaborator Mia Matsumiya and Terran Olson moved and are no longer a part of the band's live incarnation. No word has been given if they will return to future Kayo Dot releases.


Music and lyrics

Driver continued to collaborate on the lyrics with Jason Byron on the album, the lyrics and concept a collaboration between the two. The lyrics reportedly came first, and the composition of the album was much more in line with how maudlin of the Well songs were composed. He decided to make the album without worrying whether the music would be perceived as "avant-garde". The album, marking the tenth anniversary of the band's formation, draws inspiration from aspects of all of Kayo Dot's various sounds over the past decade, as well as from predecessor group
maudlin of the Well Maudlin of the Well (stylized as maudlin of the Well; commonly abbreviated as motW) is an avant-garde metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their music contains elements from many different genres including progressive rock, psychedelic rock, ...
. "Hubardo" means "lantern" or "lamp" in the mystical language of
Enochian Enochian is an occult constructed language—said by its originators to have been received from angels—recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who worked ...
. The album, more metallic in style while still maintaining the wide orchestration Kayo Dot is known for, grew out of a dislike of critically respected metal, according to Toby Driver. The album features a very wide list of collaborators, unlike recent albums which were mostly written and performed by Driver and a few people.


Release and reception


Release

Despite attempting to use
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
, the group was left with low finances after leaving
Hydra Head Hydra Head Records was an independent record label specializing in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experimental ...
, and Driver considered ending the project. In early 2013, however, Kayo Dot offered preorders on a new album to finance the album's recording and publishing; the effort was successful, giving the band the ability to go into the studio with a set budget. Those who pre-ordered received the album digitally on August 31, 2013. Shortly after the initial digital release, the group announced that they would be releasing a limited 3-LP set with artwork by Rachel Wolf and the book "The Sword of Satan" by Jason Byron. The 200 vinyl run sold out immediately.


Reception

''Hubardo'' was released to positive reception. Sputnikmusic ranked the album as the 4th of 2013, saying it recalled the "black metal chamber music of Choirs of the Eye" and that it is "simultaneously focused and sprawling. ''ContactMusic'' gave it a 9/10, calling it the most "enjoyable metal album of the year." ''Bearded Gentlemen'' gave the album a perfect 5/5, saying that " e addition of actual memorable musical segments makes the band finally feel complete." ''By-Volume'' gave it a 9.5/10, calling it a "rare and engrossing experience."By-Volume Review of Hubardo
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Track listing

All songs written by Toby Driver. All lyrics written by Jason Byron.


Credits

* Toby Driver – vocals, bass, synthesizer, piano, organ, percussion *Daniel Means – alto sax, tenor sax, clarinet *
Kim Abrams Kim Abrams is an electronic artist and rock drummer (formerly Keith Abrams), known mostly for her work with Time of Orchids and PAK. She was a frequent collaborator both with Ron Anderson and Jesse Krakow. Abrams was recruited, along with Jes ...
– drums *Terran Olson – flute,
alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E, smaller th ...
, clarinet, piano, organ, synthesizer *Tim Byrnes – trumpet, horn in F * Mia Matsumiya – violin *Jason Byron – vocals on "The Black Stone" *
Jessika Kenney Jessika Kenney is an experimental vocalist, composer, and teacher. Kenney sang the operatic prose for the world premiere of the experimental opera ''Kali'' in 2000 and performed at the Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance in Seattle. Af ...
& BC Campbell – guest backing vocals *
Randall Dunn Randall Dunn is an American record producer, audio engineer, composer, and musician. As a music producer, he has worked with artists and filmmakers including Danny Elfman, Jim Jarmusch, Panos Cosmatos, Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie, Guillermo De ...
– synth design


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubardo 2013 albums Kayo Dot albums 2010s concept albums The Flenser albums