Somnuri at the Raccoon Motel -- July 23.
Wednesday, July 23, 6 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Praised by Rock and Roll Fables for compositions that are "tense, dynamic, and diabolical," and by Ghost Cult as "wonderfully expansive and unpredictable," the post-metal rockers of Somnuri headline a July 23 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group inspiring Revolver to rave, "If you like your stoner metal with a little something extra, then Somnuri are for you."
As stated at ProgArchives.com, "Somnuri are a North American progressive sludge metal band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2015. Their current lineup consists of founding members Justin Sherrell (guitars/vocals) and Phil SanGiancomo (drums), along with recent additions Mike Gaworecki (bass) and Chris Drapeau (guitars). Somnuri's origin began in a shared rehearsal space, where Sherrell overheard the drumwork of SanGiancomo through the wall, inspiring him to reach out to collaborate.
"Currently signed to MNRK Heavy, Somnuri's atypical sludge metal attack bridges influences from progressive rock, grunge, and other sludge/post-metal groups like Mastodon, Deftones, Isis, High on Fire and Jesu, and more post-hardcore oriented artists such as Karp, Quicksand, Handsome and Helmet. Beginning with a 2015 demo, Somnuri's discography has grown to include a split with like-minded group Godmaker and three full-length albums to their name: 2017's self-titled, 2021's Nefarious Wave and 2023's Desiderium. The band also celebrated their inspirations with contributions to Magnetic Eye Records' Redux Series, covering Pink Floyd's 'Sheep,' Alice in Chains' 'Dirt,' and Soundgarden's 'Mailman.'"
Reviewing the group's 2023 recording, Heavy Music HZ raved, "Desiderium have plenty of anger driving its riffs, yet vocalist/guitarist Justin Sherrell also has a great singing voice that he doesn’t ignore. It’s this duality of melody and rage that Somnuri has nailed down after years of being on the cusp of getting there. If there was a release that would break this band out into the greater masses, Desiderium should be their golden ticket." Meanwhile, Metal Hammer lauded the band's "fresh take on sludge from this killer Brooklyn trio. There’s a deceptive elegance to Somnuri’s brand of meaty metal, a mysterious adeptness at simultaneously sounding like gilded seraphs while peeling off thick slabs of syrupy slick sludge metal."
Somnuri headline their Davenport engagement on July 23 with an additional set by CMD/LINES, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $15.88, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
