Biography
Comets on Fire originated in Santa Cruz, California, where guitarist and vocalist Ethan Miller joined forces with longtime friend and bassist Ben Flashman to launch the group in 1999. Their aim was to forge music of unrelenting rhythmic and sonic force, free from genre boundaries, while remaining devoted to anthemic rock riffs, psychedelia, and crushing crescendos. The lineup solidified once Flashman’s acquaintance Noel von Harmonson contributed his Echoplex, and drummer Utrillo Kushner demonstrated his command of the kit; as Julian Cope accurately observed, Kushner performs as though two drummers each believe they are Keith Moon.
Issued in 2001 and later taken up by Alternative Tentacles, the band’s self-titled debut had been captured on four-track, yielding a garage-psych explosion of ferocious, near-epic scale. Comets on Fire soon became fixtures within the underground jam-rock circuit and were counted among the notable acts of the “new weird America.” Their reach broadened with 2002’s Field Recordings from the Sun on Ba Da Bing, where layers of guest players on saxophone and additional percussion helped shape a dense, acid-soaked, overdriven sound that drew equally from Hawkwind and the MC5.
Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance, already a frequent studio and stage associate, joined as a full member in 2003 and supplied a second guitar that amplified the group’s thunderous attack. The 2004 release Blue Cathedral fused the most potent traits of the prior records, introducing labyrinthine textures and fluid dynamics to their monumental rock clamor and marking a clear arrival at artistic maturity. Following their relocation to Sub Pop, the band delivered Avatar in 2006, the most approachable recording of their catalog to that point.
Issued in 2001 and later taken up by Alternative Tentacles, the band’s self-titled debut had been captured on four-track, yielding a garage-psych explosion of ferocious, near-epic scale. Comets on Fire soon became fixtures within the underground jam-rock circuit and were counted among the notable acts of the “new weird America.” Their reach broadened with 2002’s Field Recordings from the Sun on Ba Da Bing, where layers of guest players on saxophone and additional percussion helped shape a dense, acid-soaked, overdriven sound that drew equally from Hawkwind and the MC5.
Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance, already a frequent studio and stage associate, joined as a full member in 2003 and supplied a second guitar that amplified the group’s thunderous attack. The 2004 release Blue Cathedral fused the most potent traits of the prior records, introducing labyrinthine textures and fluid dynamics to their monumental rock clamor and marking a clear arrival at artistic maturity. Following their relocation to Sub Pop, the band delivered Avatar in 2006, the most approachable recording of their catalog to that point.
Albums
