VENAMORIS – To Cross Or To Burn – LP – White Vinyl [FEB 28]

CD – The second release of soulful dark pop from legendary drummer Dave Lombardo and singer-songwriter Paula Lombardo.

The courtship of Dave and Paula Lombardo is the kind of thing that would make for an inspired romantic comedy. Picture it: The man who raised the bar for heavy metal drumming rendezvous with a beautiful woman whose musical background included backing up legacy acts in Las Vegas and trying to break into Nashville as a singer/songwriter. Fortunately for the world, their musical union has manifested as Venamoris, whose Ipecac debut To Cross Or To Burn (out February 28) goes far to explode preconceived notions while constructing captivating new possibilities.

Obviously, the indefatigable Dave Lombardos bonafides as a world-class drummer are well-known. But while he drafted the blueprint that would define thrash-metal drumming, hes also applied his finesse to solo percussion (2023s Rites Of Percussion, also on Ipecac), hip hop and classical music, as well as boundary-pushing recordings and performances with everyone from John Zorns ensembles to punk icons Misfits and Mr. Bungle. To Cross is another milestone in his storied career, where hes added guitar, bass and considerable production techniques to his sonic skill-set. The only thing that rivals how many drums we have [at home] is how many guitars Dave has, says Paula, laughing. So he plays guitar quite a bit on this album.

Paula is truly a dynamic musical force powered with impressive vocal prowess, a deftness on piano and synthesizers and a great instinct for alluring lyrics, melodies and arrangements. At 18 years old, she was a backing singer as part of Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newtons enclave, which taught her grace under pressure when youre performing multiple shows in an evening and perfection was demanded every day. She left Vegas to head to Nashville to continue her career in music, but by her own words, It just wasnt the right fit.

Taking their name from the Latin vena amoris (the vein of love, purported to run from the left-hand ring finger to the heart), Venamoris first public recording was The Gift, a Christmas song the Lombardos posted to Bandcamp. Not long afterward, their 2023 debut album, Drown In Emotion, was released. Paulas singer-songwriter vibe felt like it was plucked from the FM dial in 1975 between deep cuts from Carole Kings Tapestry and Hearts Dog And Butterfly.

featuring Special Guest Performers:
contrabass Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle (Stay with Me)
bass Ra Diaz of Korn (Stain of Pain)
guitar Alex Skolnick of Testament {Stain of Pain, Burnt Paper)
guitar Gary Holt of Slayer (Animal Magnetism)

Tracklist:

1 Stay With Me
2 In the Shadows
3 Truth
4 Stain of Pain
5 Spiderweb
6 Burnt Paper
7 Holding on to Nothing
8 Animal Magnetism
9 Numb
10 To Cross or To Burn