ISOLANT
Industrial death-doom band Isolant was formed in 2014 in Boston MA, by guitarist/bassist Max Furst (Malleus, The Watcher, ex-Morne), vocalist Mark Banfield, and noisemaker Robert Ferent. The band’s name was something Furst came up with as an attempt to personify the feeling of crushing isolation. The project formed around its member’s interest in British pioneering industrial acts like Spine Wrench, Godflesh, Scorn and Coil, as well as the atonal percussive heaviness of early Swans, doom metal and crust punk. A self-titled and self-released demo tape surfaced in 2015 brilliantly showcasing the band’s unique, dismal, and dark sound, but Isolant remained a studio only project which fell apart soon after as members parted ways due to personal and scheduling reasons. However, unreleased and incomplete demos were recorded by Furst for a planned followup to the demo tape which still contained final contributions by Ferent, but remained buried and unpublished for years in the wake of the band’s premature dissolution. Long time Isolant fan and Furst’s California-based friend and vocalist Mattia Alagna (Abstracter, Atrament, Somnolent, Ash Prison) asked to review these demos. Impressed with the work, Alagna urged Furst to complete the recordings with himself on vocals, and the new partnership also lead to bringing on board Spanish noise-maker Miguel Souto (Suspiral, Sepelio, S.E.K.H., Arkaik Excruciation, Excurse, ex-Bodybag) to add further electronic touches to the then still incomplete tracks. The new EP, titled “Drain” was completed remotely by the new lineup during 2022 and then sent off to Will Killngsworth of Dead Air Studios to be mixed and mastered for a 2023 release via Sentient Ruin.