Locrian The Crystal World: 15th Anniversary Remaster LP
PREORDER
Shipping June 12, 2025
Locrian The Crystal World: 15th Anniversary Remaster LP
Celebrating 15 years since its original release, The Crystal World returns in a definitive reissue, marking a turning point in the sonic legacy of Locrian. Comprised of André Foisy, Terence Hannum, and Steven Hess, the trio has carved a path at the crossroads of drone, noise, ambient, and metal — a sound that resists genre and reverberates with emotional weight. The Crystal World marked a transformative chapter where abstraction gave way to narrative—not just for Locrian, but for the broader experimental music landscape. Reissued with intention and care, this recording returns not simply as a document of a band in metamorphosis, but as a timeless, immersive artifact—one that continues to refract new light with each listen.
Side A – Triumph of Elimination / At Night's End / Pathogens
Side B – The Crystal World / Obsidian Facades / Elevations and Depths
Pressed on metallic silver and gold merge vinyl with a heavy, full-color jacket, lyric sheet and band photo postcard.
Remastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.
Art by Justin Bartlett / Vberkvlt.
Band photo by Rick Garrett.
Special thanks to Ashley Briscoe.
Dedicated to the memory of Justin Bartlett / Vberkvlt.
A marked change had come over the forest, as if dusk had begun to fall. Everywhere the glacé sheaths which enveloped the trees and vegetation had become duller and more opaque. The crystal floor underfoot was occluded and gray, turning the needles into spurs of basalt. The brilliant panoply of colored light had gone, and a dim amber glow moved across the trees, shadowing the sequined floor. At the same time it had become considerably colder.
The Crystal World, the third studio album from Locrian, is an epic journey. Titled after JG Ballard’s 1964 novel that tells the story of a physician who specializes in leprosy sent to a remote African outpost to discover a jungle that is slowly crystallizing and encroaching upon everything it touches. On The Crystal World, Terence Hannum, and André Foisy, are joined by Steven Hess on percussion and electronics. Hess’ contribution pushes Locrian deeper into the abyss of despair rendering a sound that is darker, bleaker, and engulfing than any of the group’s previous releases. Locrian continue the conceptual trajectory of blackened drone that the group initially embarked on during their first studio album Drenched Lands (2009). Masters of layering, The Crystal World finds the group manipulating tones and textures that transport the listener to an apocalyptic wasteland. At times, the layers are serene and somber, at other times they are chaotic.
The Crystal World is Locrian's essential release, finding the band creating a sound all of their own. A sound that evades simplistic analogies to black metal, power-electronics, noise, or other categories. This is the album that will stun fans of the bands previous works with how far the group has come from their early releases.
