Biography
Portland, OR's Clarity Process is dead-set on the destruction of
media-created, and universally accepted, guidelines, terminology and
philosophy of what a rock band should be in 2005. The labels have been shed
(post-hardcore, emo, screamo), the walls knocked down in one swift kick on
this new release that will leave you standing, possibly speechless, at what
appears to be an effortless explosion of the senses. All emotions on
display, all truths questioned, and the power-elite on trial.
No one is safe here, the mirrors have been turned around to expose the
corporate greed, the media lust, the unjust targeting of the innocent child,
the disappearance of the hearts and souls of nations and the effects this
has on the New Generation. And where better to originate from than the
high-rise, corporate glam of America.
And there's a soundtrack here called Killing the Precedent. With no real
foot-holds in any particular style, no allegiance to one musical philosophy,
Clarity Process has created an album with the intensity of 1977 Punk, the
creativity and technicality of Prog, the full-on assault of Metal, and the
bare acoustic confessionals that have always been welcome in any era and in
any genre. This is not just a CD, this is an album for the ages. A Tragedy.
According to Aristotle, a Tragedy is "an imitation of an action that is
serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with
each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate
parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents
arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such
emotions."
Then this is the Clarity Process play. "The ashes of integrity swept neatly
under a hundred dollar bill.We're terrified but purchasing." ("The
Capitalist"). And then, as if the claustrophobia has taken hold, "where is
my voice? Was it erased for my own good?" ("Pretty Smile, Dead Air"). And
when the narrator finds comfort at last (but in what?), a comfort that is
both confused and brutally honest-"Hold this hand grenade, I only want to
keep you safe"- ("Tommy Ross"), yet another societal flaw is exposed; what
does one do when he has seen the light, and has exposed the terrors and
demons we are branded with? How does he gain control of his existence and
share this eternal wisdom with another?
Perhaps the answer to this lies in the closing moments of this Tragedy. "So
live in your photograph home, and sleep while the sun washes over. The color
has run out of the frame. There are pictures of youth, but you gave them to
no one."
Of course. There is no answer. The lifetime of branding, the mind-control,
the fears of aging and loss of beauty, the never-ending quest for wealth and
the spiritual void have resulted in the loss of humanity, the loss of
character, and a fleeting glimpse of youth in a snapshot. But even the
photograph has been lost.
These are questions certainly not unique to the 21st century, but as
technological advances accelerate, and the concentration of wealth and
influence shrinks, these are the new ideological questions. Questions with
no answers. With only mirrors as weapons, Clarity Process has taken their
guitars and drums and samplers and made their statement to the world via
Killing the Precedent.
To be released in America on Rise Records 01.25.05, Killing the Precedent
has already garnered the band much international attention. Licensed to
Germany's Defiance Records (with an American roster that includes Coheed &
Cambria, Hot Water Music and Alexisonfire), and set to tour Europe in the
summer, Clarity Process has set their sights on the world. To take their
Tragedy on the road and into a multitude of unique cultures is the ultimate
test for these universal themes of the decay and control of the mind by the
global forces in power. Clarity Process is dead-set on destruction.
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