Album Engineered by Andy Patterson of SUBROSA

 

Prosthetic Records have announced the signing of Salt Lake City-based sludge rockers, THE DITCH AND THE DELTA. Formed in 2014 by longtime friends, Elliot Secrist, Charles Bogus and Kory Quist, the band released their 2015 EP, We Rust, to a vast array of critical acclaim. Their debut full length Hives In Decline was released on LP on Battleground records and digitally through the band’s Bandcamp page on May 12, 2017. Prosthetic Records will be re-releasing the album on compact disc and will make it available on all digital platforms on September 8th. Preorders are available here: http://smarturl.it/TDATD 
 
The band comments on the signing, “Having been fans of many of both the current roster and alumni on Prosthetic, The Ditch couldn’t be more pleased to be on the label among such good company.”
 
Hives In Decline features seven tracks and was engineered by Andy Patterson of Subrosa. The album shows the band exploring into sound design sonics, as well as features a swarm of solos by Gentry Densley (Eagle Twin, Iceburn) on the song “Fuck on Asphalt”.  Metal Injection recently described the album as, “a record that takes you in and allows you to revel in the madness of the genre.”
 
Hives In Decline track listing
  1. Hives in Decline
  2. Fuck on Asphalt
  3. Sleeping Dogs
  4. Dry Land
  5. Till Body Quits
  6.  Mud
  7. Dread Spectacle
 
A live version of “Mud” can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/ci1X7bSjdFA
 
The devil is in the details with The Ditch. The expanded harmony and tension, as well as the unique rhythms are, in part, due to Secrist’s studies and degree in Jazz Composition. The band calls their brand of sludgy/noise/doom, “Big Riff”. Employing different tunings, and modal centers, every song The Ditch writes manages to avoid many of the usual doom trappings of excessive feedback, static harmony, and pentatonic riffs. The lyrical content deals with everyday life and the constant suppression and alienation that comes with it. Three men from Mormon dominated Utah are bound to have a lot of resentment and disdain for the mono culture they exist in day to day.
 
They have shared the stage with Call of the Void, Lord Dying, Eagle Twin, Iceburn, The Sword, Subrosa, Kowloon Walled City, Castle, The Atlas Moth, Kayo Dot, and Dust Moth to name a few. Current tour dates are as follows:
 
8/15 Colorado Springs, CO @ Triple Nickel 
8/16 Wichita, KS@ Barleyscorn 
8/17 Wichita Falls, TX @ The Deep End. 
8/18 Austin, TX @ The Lost Well
8/19 Lafayette, LA @ Boom Boom Room. 
8/20 Greenville, SC @ Cabin Floor Records. 
8/21 Raleigh, NC @ Slims 
8/23 New York, NY @ TBA
8/24 Boston, MA @ Great Scott**
8/25 Columbus, OH @ Space Bar**
8/26 Milwaukee, WI @ Franks Power Plant 
8/27 St Paul, MN @ TBA 
8/30 Seattle, WA @ Fun House** 
8/31 Portland, OR @ High Water Mark**
9/1 Boise, ID @ The Shredder**
9/22 Salt Lake City, UT @ Crucial Fest**. 
** with Rozamov 
 
THE DITCH AND THE DELTA is:
Elliot Secrist (guitar/vocals)
Charles Bogus (drums)
Kory Quist (bass/vocals)
 
Photo by Jessica Bundy