US Experimental/Post-Metal trio Locrian has announced the 15th anniversary reissue of “The Crystal World,” which will be released on June 12th, 2025 via Utech Records.
Purchase and Stream the remastered version of the title track “The Crystal World” on Bandcamp:
“Celebrating the 15-year-anniversary, the post-metal trio is happy to reveal the details of the reissue of their classic work. Coming out June 12. Pre-order from now on.”
Celebrating over 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 (Albany), Terence Hannum (Baltimore), and Steven Hess (Chicago), 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.
Originally issued via Utech Records, “The Crystal World” stands as a monument to the band’s evolution – the moment Locrian expanded from a duo into a fully realized trio with the addition of percussionist Steven Hess. What began as an impromptu invitation to play on a track or two turned into a full-band transformation.
For Steven Hess: “The Crystal World” was more than a recording session; it was an initiation. Recalling the night it all began, he shares: “I remember really focusing on how I would approach the drum parts for these songs and the entire record. Minimal, slightly off-kilter, and I wanted them to loosely hold the beat but to also blend in and be more textural, like another layer folded into the overall sound but occasionally piercing through like a shard of glass.” Hess had admired Locrian from a distance, owning their early 7″ releases and catching them live at Chicago’s Empty Bottle. What started as a half-joke – that the band would sound even better with drums – quickly turned into a serious collaboration. “A song or two ended up being 5–6,” he recounts: “and a few months later, the ‘guest’ ended up being a full-time member of the group.” Steven concludes: “It was a stroke of luck that we all happened to meet at that particular time and to create this record that still shines so brightly with fans and with us. A very special record that I’m very proud to have been a part of.”
That sense of transformation permeates the record – and not just within the band. “The Crystal World” borrows its title and conceptual undercurrent from J.G. Ballard’s 1966 novel, in which a leprologist discovers a jungle consumed by a crystalline force, slowly turning all matter – flora, fauna, human – into shimmering stillness. It’s a metaphor of suspended time, entropy, and the sublime beauty of ruin. The same ideas resonate throughout the album’s layered drones and decaying sonic textures.
Terence Hannum reflects on this shift toward structure and narrative: “Steven joined the band at this album, and we went from a more improvisational approach as a duo to composing with more structure. Even though we started the album as just Andre and I, and Steven came in and played with what we had, and we wrote like half of the record together. As a duo, Andre and I had been collaborating with others but once Steven arrived it all just clicked.”
The record is also marked by collaborative spirit beyond the core members. Erica Burgner-Hannum lends haunting vocals to several tracks, and string arrangements sent in by André’s family add emotional depth to pieces like “Elevations And Depths.” It’s a work that feels curated as much as it is conjured – a textural world meticulously assembled from distortion, Drone, and silence.
“It just felt complete,” Terence continues. “We were trying to make a claim to some corner of the dark music world. I think before this album our work was more inspired by greyfields and decrepit architecture – but TCW started to give narrative structure to the album.”
Visually, “The Crystal World” stands as one of the most iconic releases in Locrian’s catalog – thanks in no small part to the haunting, intricate artwork by the late Justin Bartlett. As Keith from Utech Records reflects: “The band were about to discover their powers as a three piece, Utech Records was cementing its reputation as one of the world’s premier experimental labels and Justin Bartlett created one of his most iconic covers.” The collaboration between sonic and visual languages elevated the album to a new level of cohesion – a point echoed by André Foisy, who shares: “Justin Bartlett’s extraordinary artwork for this release perfectly captured the essence of both our sonic explorations and Ballard’s literary vision, his intricate illustrations manifesting the crystallization process visually. Justin was a visionary artist whose contributions to visual culture continue to resonate even after his untimely passing.”
When “The Crystal World” first appeared over 15 years ago, it 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.
Pre-Order via Urche Records on Bandcamp: https://utechrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-crystal-world-15th-anniversary-remaster
Tracklist:
01. Triumph Of Elimination
02. At Night’s End
03. The Crystal World (Instrumental)
04. Pathogens (Instrumental)
05. Obsidian Facades
06. Elevations And Depths
07. Extinction
