Correction: Jordan Reyes is no longer affiliated with Moniker Records.
Since debuting in 2012, local progressive death-metal quintet Warforged has tantalized this wolf with a trail of brutal bread crumbs, including the concise 2014 EP Essence of the Land. In May the band finally dropped their debut full-length, I: Voice, via Nashville label the Artisan Era, and it’s a main course of an album—70 minutes of hemorrhage-inducing beats and atmospheric interludes, with enough stylistic switch-ups to make John Zorn jealous! Warforged are wickedly adept at cross-pollination: the blend of ghostly black-metal vocal effects, Bitches Brew-esque jazz riffing, and distended blastbeats on “Old Friend” somehow sounds, well, almost natural. Warforged are touring in support of Inanimate Existence, and on Monday, June 10, both bands hit Cobra Lounge with Caecus and Wounds.
Will Jordan Reyes ever slow down? He already runs tape label American Damage, performs with Ono, and occasionally writes for the Reader—and on Friday, June 14, he fires up another label, American Dreams. It debuts with Close, a haunting solo synth collection from Reyes. “Making music on the synthesizer is an activity of erasure for me,” he explains. “I think a lot about addiction still, and how that impulse, habit, biochemistry has warped since I quit drinking and drugging.” He says that getting lost in a synth helps his recovery the same way long-distance running has. On Bandcamp you can get a limited edition of Close with a signed print from cover artist JJ Cromer.
Annual vinyl show C.R.A.T.E.S., organized by Funk Trunk founder Quinn Cunningham (it stands for “Chicago Record and Turntable Enthusiast Swap”), returns this weekend at Evanston’s Temperance Beer Co. Among its 30-plus tables of vendors are FeelTrip, Wild Prairie Vinyl & Vintage, and South Rhodes Records (which aims to open a south-side storefront soon). C.R.A.T.E.S. runs from 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9.  v
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