About

Hallowed Butchery is a Maine based music project. Ryan Fairfield writes, performs, and records cosmic doom metal. His wife Brittney Fairfield was recently added to the project as a co-vocalist. Together they are writing and recording their debut full-length as a duo.

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Hallowed Butchery began in 2004 under the moniker Hallowed Butchery of the Son. It was the solo endeavor of Maine resident Ryan Scott Fairfield. Frustrated with the inability to find like-minded musicians in the small towns of Maine, Fairfield decided to go it alone, and began writing spastic, inhumanly fast electronic-grindcore. He recorded the material and released two CDR demos.

Soon after he took the project to the live setting, and played shows all across the state of Maine, from basements to bars. With the help of friend Dustin Fairbanks, they together embarked on a small tour of Canada. Fairfield quickly made a name for himself, as his live shows were filled with over the top theatrics, from blood-spitting, to seizure-inducing strobe lights, and extremely violent chaos.

However Fairfield became disenfranchised and bored with the project, feeling as though it had become too gimmicky. He stopped performing live, and shut himself off from the world, shifting the style of the project from grindcore to experimental black metal. As to avoid confusion, he also dropped the of the Son from the project's name.

Again, a series of demos were recorded, and all were well received by fans and the music press. Therefore Fairfield set off to record his debut full-length album. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada at the time, he wanted to write a record that dealt with his frustration and disgust with urban living; a record that glorified the natural world. He had a concept, and a title: Funeral Rites for the Living. However when it came time to write and record the album, he again began to experience writer's block, and boredom.

He shut himself off in his tiny apartment, drop-tuned his guitar, and began to record crushing guitar riffs, played at a snail's pace, interspersed with acoustic, folk interludes and industrial electronics. It wasn't the black metal of old, nor was it yet another stoner doom record. It was fresh, unique, and unlike anything else.

Fairfield compiled the recordings, and began to contact record labels regarding a release. It was then that he discovered the Germany-based Vendetta Records, who was floored by the recordings, and offered to have them released on both vinyl and CD. The recordings were sent to James Plotkin (Khanate) for mastering, and soon after were released to the public as Funeral Rites for the Living. The album received critical acclaim from the metal press, with many declaring it a masterpiece of the genre.

Encouraged by Vendetta Records as a way of promoting the project's name, Hallowed Butchery followed up the debut with a split 12" LP with the New York-based doom metal outfit Batillus, a 4-song cassette tape of unreleased demos, a split 10" LP with French funeral doom soloist The Austrasian Goat, and lastly a cassette tape collection of all the pre-Funeral Rites for the Living black metal demos (which had never been released).

In 2012 Ryan Fairfield set out to create his sophomore full-length album. This time he decided to no longer pursue the project alone, and added his wife Brittney into the fold as lead vocalist. Brittney had guest singing spots on Funeral Rites for the Living and the Batillus split, and it only seemed natural to have her become a full-time part of the project.

Together they are finishing the recording of their second album (and first as a duo), with plans for completion by July of 2013. It is to be titled North American Darkness. Lyrically it deals with the darkness of American culture, from suicide, to child abuse, to the horrors of war, and the historical genocides within US borders. The duo plans to donate a portion of the record sales to charity. Musically it is still within the doom metal genre, but with experimental and psychedelic tendencies. And unlike past releases, it features no harsh, screamed, or growled vocals, with all of its vocal lines being sung by both Brittney and Ryan, giving the songs a more traditional doom metal feel.

An official release date will be available shortly, as will audio and video clips of the recording. Keep checking this official website to stay up-to-date on the new album. A darkness is coming...

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For press, booking, and general inquiries: ryanfairfield@gmail.com

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