Bryce Seditz has been unleashing hell for the best part of a decade with Plaguewielder. It’s a nasty brew of sludge weight with crust edges, and a blackened aura to cover all. Restlessly, having just released the latest Plaguwielder album, Covenant Death, in 2021, Seditz returns with a new project in Above & Below.
Here the focus shifts. The passion that defines the punk lineage subsides, the blackened eeriness drifts away, and a dark, steel heart is assembled in its place. Above & Below take the industrial route, relishing the mechanical precision of the genre and its cold detachment. With the aid of Jeff Wilson (Chrome Waves, ex-Nachtmystium, ex-Wolvhammer) on bass, who also mixed and mastered the record, Suffer Decay Alone is a formidable introduction to Seditz’s industrial dystopia.
Echoes of Al Jourgensen’s pivotal years with Ministry scream through the dark corridors of “Isolate”, while the brutal oppression of Godflesh defines “Rust”. We are proud to present the new single for “Ghosts”, and Bryce spoke about the inspiration for the track.
“‘Ghosts’ was one of my favorites immediately after it was finished being written. The ‘womp womp womp’ at the beginning of the song reminded me of the ghosts eating the Pac-Man, hence the title. The lyrics hit home for me. I can remember how I felt when I wrote this song when listening back. It’s about a failing relationship/friendship along with the existential crisis of ‘is this where I belong/who am I as a person?’ This song is unforgiving.”