D. Schoenhofer - Drums M. Gaytan - Guitar B. Wharton - Vocals A. Wentworth - Bass P. Meyers - Guitar B. Petree - Weapons & Explosive
Envision a brick wall charging at you at 100 miles per hour. Premonitions Of War is so much more than a band. They are a force. They are the ominous black cloud sitting above your head. With their take on metallic hardcore - more merciless, unbridled and infuriated than anything else in the genre, they are a humbling beast, battering you with a mess of low-end-heavy hardcore, grind and utter dirge that blasts right through you, caves in your face and stomps your remains to bits. Premonitions of War has a thunderous sound that brings to mind bands like Unsane, Soilent Green, Neurosis and Superjoint Ritual mixed with hardcore breakdowns and Allman-esque southern rock. They are a sonic paroxysm comprised of an unadulterated vocal uproar and a colossal wall of sound. Not since the demise of Carcass has the heavy music world seen a band as forceful in its ability to translate hostility and aggression into musical compositions - you are not prepared for this.
Formed in September of 2000, Premonitions Of War was manifested by three close friends, M. Gaytan (guitar), P. Meyers (guitar) and D. Schoenhofer (drums) who had been playing in bands together for close to four years. Their overall dissatisfaction with the hardcore scene and the world in general inspired them to create music that would incorporate all of their influences - from metal to rock to electronic and more- while keeping their feet planted firmly in hardcore. "We're not a metal band - we don't have long hair and we don't wear bullet belts. We want to make music that will combine different types of heavy music without expressing the shortcomings of any of them. We like to keep people on their toes and bring in elements from music scenes generally geared towards older audiences while still keeping it interesting to us," said Gaytan. Premonitions oO War added two more members, T. Amstutz on vocals and A. Amstutz on bass to solidify their assemblage and started writing music. They released a self-titled EP in 2000 and started playing shows throughout the U.S. Next, they wrote and recorded the notable 'The True Face of Panic' released by Goodfellow Records in November of 2002, touring in support of it with bands like The Red Chord, Between the Buried and Me and The Black Dahlia Murder.
In 2003 Premonitions Of War would see a lineup change that added B. Wharton on vocals and N. Hale on bass and the band now had a solid touring arrangement. They began garnering interest from various record labels and were approached by Victory Records in February of 2003, signing a deal with the label shortly thereafter. Premonitions Of War had already received outstanding press from the likes of Metal Maniacs, Terrorizer, MTV News and Outburn. The buzz on this band was building with unrelenting force.
Premonitions Of War headed south to Tampa, FL to record their Victory Records premiere, "Left In Kowloon", in October of 2003 at Mana Recording Studios with Shawn Ohtani and Erik Rutan of Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal fame. M. Gaytan said, "Recording 'Kowloon' included a lot of late nights fueled by coffee and Cuban guava pastries. We worked through evenings and mornings for 3 weeks straight, which definitely added to the genuine bitterness and the emphatic bleakness of the recording. It was amazing to record with [Erik] Rutan as we've all looked up to the bands he's been in and the recordings that were done in this studio like Hate Eternal and Krisiun".
Unsurpassingly volatile and irascible, Premonitions of War is a monstrosity that is ready to storm the front lines of the heavy music scene and "Left In Kowloon" is a paradigm that will go unmatched by today's standards of angst-ridden hardcore. Premonitions Of War truly captures vehemence and catharsis and are the burgeoning band in extreme music for 2004. Look for Premonitions Of War on the road to support "Left In Kowloon" throughout the year and beyond.
Source: http://www.victoryrecords.com/
