Truly warped funk/dub ensemble
the Eternals combined the talents of
Damon Locks (vocals, keyboards, special EFX), Wayne Montana (bass, melodica, guitar, keyboards), and
Dan Fliegel (percussion, guitar, keyboards). Montana and
Locks spent years together in the overlooked
Trenchmouth, and
Fliegel spent time with members of
Tortoise as
Tom Zé's backing band during touring. Much like
Trenchmouth, but with less emphasis on guitar, the Chicago-based
Eternals threw together a number of influences -- from
Lee Perry to
the Headhunters to
Gang of Four -- placing rhythm as the focus with melody and noise not far behind. After releasing two singles on Thrill Jockey in 1999,
the Eternals made their self-titled full-length debut on DeSoto a year later. In 2004 the band added drummer
Tim Mulvenna (of
the Vandermark 5) and released
Rawar Style, which was followed in 2006 by the EP High Anxiety, a collection of remixes.
Heavy International, the third studio album, was released in 2007. ~ Andy Kellman