SONS OF RA Streams Proggy Instrumental Jam “Lividity And The Ascension”

Sons Of Ra is now streaming their proggy instrumental jam “Lividity And The Ascension” from their debut album Standard Deviation, due out April 11. If you’re in need of some jazzy metal goodness up in your ears today, this is certainly it.

“‘Lividity And The Ascension’ is one of the tracks that I brought to the album,” said Sons Of Ra‘s Keith Wakefield. “While the title might seem morbid, for me the piece is about shedding the old and triumphantly moving on to the future. I’ve had to do a bit of this in my life.

“I think it is important to remember and sometimes mourn the past, all the while embracing the future. It is a pretty simple and repetitive form that I originally wanted as a palate cleanser to offset some of the more complex songs on our album. But in the studio, it really came alive thanks to the 12-string that our friend Josh let us use and Erik’s inspired playing.”

Standard Deviation features interpretations of compositions from jazz legends Carla Bley, John Coltrane, and Don Ellis, balanced with a collection of original compositions reflecting the group’s diverse influences. Standard Deviation was recorded and mixed by Spenser Morris (Saor, Panopticon, Vukari) at Palisade Studios in Chicago and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Alan Douches at West West Side Sound in New York.

Additionally, the album features guest performances by bassist Stephen Reichelt (Morgue Supplier, Drug Honkey, Mare Crisium), percussionist Paul Abella, and flautist Isaiah Sanderman. The cover art is a painting commissioned by the band from Chicago-area artist Nick Gurley, layout was handled by Erik Oldman Vecchione with photography from Sam Castellano at Doozy and Vacant Era Photography.

Preorders are live at the label webshop here and Bandcamp – the standard version here and the hi-res version here.