Subrosa

Originating in Salt Lake City, Utah, SubRosa constructs a singular blend rooted in sludge, doom, and stoner rock while weaving in strands of psychedelia, goth, and indie rock. Electric violins supply distinctive coloration within the otherwise standard guitar-bass-drums framework. Rebecca Vernon, handling guitar and lead vocals, launched the group in 2005, her songwriting shaped by a longstanding engagement with classic science fiction. Collaborating with violinist Sarah Pendleton, the pair issued their self-released debut recording, The Worm Has Turned, in 2006. The material drew interest from the Swedish metal imprint I Hate Records, which put out SubRosa’s first full-length, Strega, in 2008. Violinist Kim Pack came aboard ahead of the 2009 EP Swans Trapped in Ice. Bassist Dave Jones and drummer Zach Hatsis joined for No Help for the Mighty Ones, issued by Profound Lore Records in 2011; the album marked a critical breakthrough, receiving strong notices in Decibel and Pitchfork and landing on numerous year-end lists for that year. Andy Patterson assumed the drum chair in place of Hatsis in 2012, after which the September 2013 album More Constant Than the Gods appeared and earned further praise, including placements by Rolling Stone and Spin among the twenty best metal releases of the year. For This We Fought the Battle of Ages arrived in August 2016 with new bassist Levi Hanna; the track “Troubled Cells,” written in response to rising suicide rates among Utah’s LGBT+ youth, served as the band’s first music video. Their set at the Roadburn Music Festival in the Netherlands was preserved on the release Subdued: Live at Roadburn 2017, which also introduced bassist Kory Quist.