How much change is a band willing to endure in pursuit of a dream? In the case of Coliseum, as much as it takes. In the three years since their second album, No Salvation (their first and only for Relapse Records), the Louisville power trio have changed labels, producers, engineers, and replaced the frenetic breakneck speed of former drummer Chris Maggio with the emphatic rhythmic stomp of Carter Wilson - all in the service of producing the album they always dreamed of. That album is House With A Curse, their third full-length and first for Temporary Residence Ltd.
Written and recorded in the band's hometown of Louisville, KY, House With A Curse represents a major sea change in the Coliseum canon. For the first time in their nearly decade-long career, the trio play like a singular unit, commanding an agile, indestructible army of enormous riffs grounded by the head-nodding, foot-stomping rhythm section of Wilson and long-time bassist Mike Pascal. Guitarist/vocalist Ryan Patterson's gravel-throated proclamations are more personal than ever, reflecting against himself and projecting to the outside world. In the past Coliseum had one mode: FAST and HEAVY. With House, the group shows off a surprisingly masterful sense of melody, harmony and dynamics within the kind of passionate, fist-pumping face-melters that would make both Queens of the Stone Age and Fugazi proud.
Produced by the band at The Funeral Home in Louisville and mixed by J. Robbins in Baltimore, House With A Curse also opens the door for the extended Coliseum family, with no less than a half dozen guests - Will Oldham (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), J. Robbins (Jawbox), Jason Noble (Shipping News, Rachel's, Rodan), Peter Searcy (Squirrel Bait) and more - stopping by to add vocals, extra guitar, strings and whatever else a particular song might have called for. House is not just a new and exciting chapter in the Coliseum story, it's a celebration of the underground music community that inspired its very existence.