3/2/07, 4:49 pm EST

Assignment Seven Finalist: Timothy Anderl on Mouth of the Architect

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

Mouth of the Architect

by Timothy Anderl
Age: 30

Dayton, Ohio’s Mouth of the Architect inhabit a world of sound that exhibits characteristics of both beautiful and delicate instrumental post-rock, and the raw teeth-gnashing violence found in modern heavy metal. It is no surprise that they’re turning the heads of indie rock and metal enthusiasts, and are growing a fanbase that includes their peers.

Two records and a split EP with Dayton’s Kenoma tucked neatly under their belts, Mouth of The Architect, will spend 2007 taking their tour de force to a rapidly growing fanbase. Early Spring finds them hitting the pavement with Rob Crow (Pinback, Goblin Cock), and Mastodon and Priestess. There are also rumors of a 2007 tour with These Arms Are Snakes.

MOTA and their tour mates weren’t brought together by happenstance. Crow, an apparent fan of the band, name-requested them to support his March jaunt. MOTA also have a long-running relationship with Mastodon — Brent Hinds leant his considerable bellow to “At Arms Length” from their 2006 The Ties That Blind album. These Arms Are Snakes drummer, and Seattle-by-way-of-Dayton transplant, Chris Common ran the boards on each of the band’s releases. Common’s bandmate Brian Cook explored the abysmal depths of the band’s rhythm section and became an honorary architect when he contributed bass tracks for their latest effort.

Before 2006, eight minute experimental, sludge metal epics weren’t commonplace on radio playlists. They still aren’t. But with behemoths like Mastodon earning a #9 spot on Rolling Stone’s best albums of the year chart for Blood Mountain, modern metal may finally begin to find a place with mainstream audiences. With a deafening buzz spreading virally through message boards, webzines, metal and alternative glossies, and MySpace (where the band’s songs have over 100,000 plays, and 6,600 “friends”), MOTA are perfectly poised for that kind of crossover.