Unearth Guitarist Producing the Contortionist Debut Full-Length

Indianapolis progressive deathcore band the Contortionist have hired Unearth guitarist Ken Susi to produce their debut full-length, 'Exoplanet,' which will come out this summer on Good Fight Entertainment.

"Lots of bands in this day and age are copycats or just plain old rip-offs of other bands," Susi said. "This is truly an original band; from the overall look, sound and structure of the songs."

"Ken has a lot of really awesome gear -- it's like Guitar Center in there, only better," said guitarist Robby Baca about working with Susi. "It's an understatement to say that Ken is a perfectionist. He never settles for anything less than massive and spot-on. I really feel like he is on the same page as us, which will make this record the best it can be."

The Contortionist are currently halfway done with the disc, which will feature conceptual threads but will not be a full-blown concept album. "We love the idea of doing a concept album, but we feel that for our first record, it would be best to keep things simple," said Baca.

The new record will be the follow-up to the Contortionist's two self-released EPs (recorded and produced by Jordan King of Voltaic Recording), 2008's 'Shapeshiter' and 2009's 'Apparition.'

As with those releases, 'Exoplanet' will feature songs that are technical and complex, but reproducible on stage. "Fans will hear the same songs live that they'll hear on the record," Baca said. "That's what we're going for on this release -- a true sound."