Today Is the Day

Quasi-cult-like in its construction, surgical in its execution, eclectic to a fault, Today Is the Day emerged from Nashville, TN, in 1992 as a trio of musical misfits with tremendous technical abilities lead by founder, guitarist, and vocalist Steve Austin. Not the simplest to define sonically, Today Is the Day combines the challenging time signatures and chameleon-esque musical proficiency of King Crimson with the raw-boned intensity, volume, and power of Slayer. Between those poles, Austin and the various incarnations of Today Is the Day have experimented brazenly, audaciously, and fearlessly with sound, tone, and style, utilizing everything from found samples to acoustic instruments to synthesizers to all-out death metal and grindcore beats. In doing so, the band has earned the distinction as one of extreme music's most talented, peculiar, searching, and influential acts. After releasing a self-financed EP on the band's own Supernova Records, Today Is the Day returned to Austin's former home of Detroit, MI, to record a demo tape. One of those tapes fell into the hands of Amphetamine Reptile Records head Tom Hazelmeyer, who immediately signed the band to a multiple album deal. In the Spring of 1993, Today Is the Day issued their mind-bending debut, Supernova. That quixotic album of experimental pieces and contorted metal tracks -- one that left a wake of both puzzled and congratulatory reviews -- was immediately followed with an appearance on AmRep's Clusterfuck EP, shared with labelmate's Guzzard and Chokebore. The Cluster tour followed, with all three bands co-headlining 43 dates in the U.S. and 45 in Europe. In 1994, the band recorded its follow-up, Willpower, at White Room Studios in Detroit, MI, with engineer Al Sutton. The album was far more nuanced,...