Gentry Densley

Last updated

Gentry Densley is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter. A longtime fixture on Salt Lake City, Utah's punk, metal and experimental music scenes, Densley has been involved in numerous bands but is best known for leading the groups Iceburn, Ascend and Eagle Twin. Critic Gregory Heaney describes him as "One of music's great scientists". [1]

Biography

A Salt Lake City native, Densley is a graduate of the University of Utah in music composition. [2] His first notable group was Iceburn (1991–2001), which initially started as a punk/metal power trio with progressive rock flourishes before moving into free jazz and free improvisation. During the Iceburn era, Densley became friends with Greg Anderson; Iceburn released a split e.p. with Anderson's group Engine Kid before Anderson formed of Goatsnake and Sunn O))). The pair later collaborated in the experimental doom metal project Ascend.

In 2007 Densley formed Eagle Twin, who released their debut on Southern Lord Recordings in 2009. [3]

His younger brother, Tyler Densley, was the singer for hardcore band Lewd Acts.

Related Research Articles

The cultural Music of Utah, while having been significantly influenced by the presence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, includes several thriving local scenes and a large number of musicians across a variety of genres. That said, much of the distinctiveness of Utah's musical traditions has derived from the interaction between individuals of multiple beliefs in the uniquely religious context of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Thayil</span> American guitarist and songwriter

Kim Anand Thayil is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil remained as the original members of the band until Cornell's death in 2017, and the band's subsequent split in 2018. Thayil was named the 100th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2010, and the 67th greatest guitarist of all time by SPIN in 2012. Thayil has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neurosis (band)</span> American post-metal band

Neurosis is an American post-metal band from Oakland, California. It was formed in 1985 by guitarist Scott Kelly, bassist Dave Edwardson, and drummer Jason Roeder, initially as a hardcore punk band. Chad Salter joined as a second guitarist and appeared on the band's 1987 debut Pain of Mind and then Steve Von Till replaced him in 1989. The following year, the lineup further expanded to include a keyboardist and a visual artist. Beginning with their third album Souls at Zero (1992), Neurosis transformed their hardcore sound by incorporating diverse influences including doom metal and industrial music, becoming a major force in the emergence of the post-metal and sludge metal genres.

Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It initially specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include artists from black metal, hardcore punk and crust punk bands.

The Music of North Dakota has followed general American trends over much of its history, beginning with ragtime and folk music, moving into big band and jazz. With the development of mass media, local artists in North Dakota, as in the rest of the country, saw a rapid loss of opportunity to create, perform, and sell popular music to the regional audience that had previously provided a market. Punk Music is a major genre in the modern youth scene of North Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Anderson (guitarist)</span> American musician (born 1970)

Greg Anderson is an American musician, a co-founder of Southern Lord Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Chatelain (bassist)</span> American musician

Jeremy Chatelain is a musician originally from Utah. He formed the Utah-based bands Insight and Iceburn, and went on to sing in NYC band Handsome and later formed Jets to Brazil with singer Blake Schwarzenbach. In 2005 Jeremy joined the band Helmet to play bass, but left in September 2006. Since 2000 he has written and performed with Cub Country.

Starkweather is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia formed in 1989. They have a complex experimental metal sound often including use of dissonance, intricate tempo changes and avant-garde sensibilities. Starkweather helped pioneer the hardcore punk/heavy metal crossover sound that would later be known as "metalcore", as well as being a major influence on the mathcore subgenre. They have influenced many of today's top selling hardcore/metal bands such as Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and Coalesce among many others.

Iceburn, known later as the Iceburn Collective, was a musical group formed in 1991 in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, by guitarist/vocalist/composer Gentry Densley, the sole constant member through multiple personnel changes. They were known for their unique style that combined elements of jazz, heavy metal, punk, and classical music. Releasing albums on Revelation Records and Victory Records, Iceburn achieved little mainstream attention, but earned critical praise for their unusual music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Rosenthal</span> Musical artist

Josh Rosenthal is an American singer-songwriter based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He sings about reconciliation after his parents' divorce, general relationship hardships and his affection for Salt Lake City. His song "Gotta Get Out" is about Lubbock, Texas. He has played at protestant churches, Young Life camps and banquets as well as theaters and auditoriums across the United States. He got a college degree from the University of Utah in Humanities – Strategic Communication in 2009.

Eagle Twin is an American metal band formed in Salt Lake City, Utah by singer/guitarist Gentry Densley and drummer Tyler Smith. Eagle Twin's music could be broadly classified as doom metal or sludge metal, but also touches on progressive rock, blues rock, jazz fusion and psychedelic rock, featuring lengthy instrumental passages and Densley's gruff, half-chanted vocals, which occasionally veer into overtone singing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Tusk (band)</span> American sludge metal band

Black Tusk is an American sludge metal band from Savannah, Georgia, formed in 2005.

Weep is an American rock band from New York City whose music combines elements of ethereal wave, gothic rock, shoegaze, post-punk and synthpop. Formed in 2008 by singer and guitarist Doc Hammer, the band's lineup also includes bass guitarist Fred Macaraeg, keyboardist Alex Dziena and drummer Bill Kovalcik. Their debut EP, Never Ever, was released in 2008 by Hammer's Astro-Base Go company and Projekt Records, followed by the full-length albums Worn Thin (2010), Alate (2012) and Weep (2014).

Electronicore is a fusion genre of metalcore music with elements of various electronic music genres, often including trance, electronica, and dubstep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reptar (band)</span> American alternative rock band

Reptar is an American band from Athens, Georgia founded by members Graham Ulicny, Ryan Engelberger (bass), William Kennedy (keyboards) and Andrew McFarland (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cult Leader</span> American hardcore punk band

Cult Leader is an American hardcore punk band that formed in 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded by three members of Gaza following the band's break-up. Cult Leader signed to Jacob Bannon's record label Deathwish Inc. and have released two studio albums, Lightless Walk (2015) and A Patient Man (2018), as well two EPs through the label, showcasing a brutal sound with prominent elements of extreme metal.

Milk Money (band)

Milk Money is an American 4-piece hardrock/post-hardcore band from Salt Lake City, Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swim Herschel Swim</span> American ska band

Swim Herschel Swim was a ska band formed in Provo, Utah and active 1989 to 1993. The band's initial members were Rod Middleton, Jon Armstrong (keyboardist), Rich Hillquist (drums), Russell Cluff (bass), and Rick Anderson (guitar). Jeff Hubbard replaced Cluff on bass shortly after the band's formation, and Sam Reisner (saxophone) joined in 1991. Middleton and Armstrong continued in the band when the remaining members changed around 1992 to Pat Campbell (drums), Matt Corry (trombone), Kent Carter (bass), Andy Warr (saxophone), and Lou Eastman (guitar). Their manager Dave Merkley was also involved in many aspects of the band's development. Swim Herschel Swim opened for national bands Skankin' Pickle, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and No Doubt in 1992. While their charismatic performances and enthusiastic audiences made it difficult to find repeat venues, the band is praised for jump-starting the local music scene in Utah, specifically in ska music.

References

  1. Heaney, Gregory. "The Unkindness of Crows - Eagle Twin". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  2. "Eagle Twin". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  3. Kim Kelly, "Choice Cuts," Terrorizer #189, October 2009, p. 22.