Biography
Formed in Toronto during 1992 by Detroit native Ken Bluke, Sons of Otis carved out a reputation for producing some of the most ponderous and glacial examples of space rock committed to tape. At the outset the project existed solely as Bluke’s solo endeavor under the name Otis, drawn from a character in the film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Once bassist Frank Sargeant came aboard, the outfit issued its debut EP Paid to Suffer as a self-released recording in 1994 while still operating under the single-word title, the addition of Sargeant having been intended to help Bluke realize an ideal stoner tone. A loyal underground audience gradually coalesced, leading in 1996 to a contract with Hypnotic/MCA. That short-lived association yielded the group’s first proper album, SpaceJumboFudge, at which point the prefix “Sons of” was appended to sidestep potential litigation from another band already using the name Otis. Persistent problems locating a permanent drummer prompted Bluke and Sargeant to rely on a drum machine for SpaceJumboFudge, an incongruous choice given Bluke’s steadfast devotion to vintage gear and analog methods. The substitution did nothing to diminish the music’s impact, and interest spread rapidly, especially throughout Europe where heavy music retained a stronger foothold than in North America. Disappointed with their label, the band sought refuge at Frank Kozik’s Man’s Ruin imprint, a move that better suited their ultra-hip stoner and space-rock aesthetic. Man’s Ruin issued Templeball in 1999, after which devotees of Sleep, Kyuss, and Electric Wizard began to take notice. Favorable notices and more prominent live opportunities followed, cementing Sons of Otis’ standing as a distinctive and uncompromisingly heavy unit. A reissue of SpaceJumboFudge appeared in 2000, and the following year the group delivered Songs for Worship on its third label, The Music Cartel. The arrival of drummer Ryan Aubin, previously of Shallow North Dakota, finally eliminated the succession of temporary percussionists and prepared the band for its first fully integrated assault on subwoofers and woofers alike. Songs for Worship bears witness to this fortunate alignment and stands as perhaps the ensemble’s most representative statement. The sound is thick beyond measure: Bluke’s vocals hover within the viscous grind, their words unintelligible yet charged with dark vitality, while the impossibly downtuned guitars and bass supply the music’s foundation. The deliberate, post-Sabbath riffs rumble and resonate like a massive tranquilized feline, slumbering and envisioning kills in slow motion. Pusher arrived in summer 2002, steering the band toward a harder-rocking stance and trading some of its earlier density for a sharper, more aggressive attack. Spooky and psychedelic, carrying an undercurrent of menace yet never so solemn as to deter listeners seeking to drift through space, Sons of Otis guide audiences on a visceral descent deep into the planet—past the rigid rock crust and into the molten core where life’s vital force resides—while cleaving body from consciousness, the former entombed in airless terrestrial layers and the latter hurtling toward the colossal black hole at the galaxy’s heart.
Albums
