Sculptured

Sculptured play an experimental brand of atmospheric and melodic progressive death metal -- at least to the extent that they can be categorized. Their thoughtful lyrics, as well as their use of brass and string instruments, unusual guitar dissonances, and compositional matrices, are just a few of the elements that set them apart from their peers, stylistically speaking. Formed as a side project for Agalloch's Don Anderson, the group debuted in 1998 with The Spear of the Lily Is Aureoled. Subsequent efforts Apollo Ends (2000), Embodiment (2008), and The Liminal Phase (2021) continued to explore the deepest regions of modern progressive and post-metal. Sculptured was formed in 1996 by Washington-based guitarist/songwriter Don Anderson. He recorded the band's first demo, Fulfillment in Tragedy, largely by himself, handling everything except for the drums and vocals. That demo led to a deal with the small European label Mad Lion Records and the recording of the first Sculptured full-length, The Spear of the Lily is Aureoled. Eventually licensed to The End Records, which released it in the U.S. in 1997, the album featured a core lineup of Anderson on vocals, guitar, keyboards, and bass; Brian Yager on vocals; and John Schlegel on drums. For the follow-up, 2000's mathy Apollo Ends, the lineup expanded to include Jason Walton (Agalloch) on bass, Burke Harris (who also guested on the first album) on trumpet, and Clint Idsinga on trombone, while John Haughm (Agalloch) took over on drums. Apollo Ends was surprisingly well-received in the metal underground, given its experimental tendencies; however, the fact that the band does not play live -- in part because its myriad members are scattered throughout the world-- has kept their following relatively small. The dark and atonal Embodiment arrived in 2008, and featured a lineup consisting of Anderson, Walton, vocalist Tom Walling, drummer Dave Murray (Estradasphere), and keyboardist Andy Winter (Winds, Age of Silence). Anderson, Walton, and Winter were joined by drummer Martti Hill and guitarist/vocalist Marius Sjøli on 2021's The Liminal Phase, which saw Sculptured deliver their most cohesive, yet still wildly idiosyncratic, outing to date.
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