Like its predecessors, BLOODLETTING is something of a concept album, with all of the songs tied together under one overarching idea. From the moment we started working on the project, we knew we were artistically taking a step in a darker direction. Every conversation about the record always seemed to center on themes of letting go, shedding our skin, and casting off non-physical things weighing us down. As each of us grows older we try to become better versions of ourselves, and in that process we have learned it often becomes necessary to distance ourselves from certain people and places in our pasts. While the meaning of these themes may differ from band member to band member, from the onset our unified intention was to write an album that served as a goodbye letter to those people and things we’ve had to leave behind. MOUNTAINEER’S debut album, SIRENS AND SLUMBER, was recorded in late 2016. Shortly after, the band signed with Lifeforce Records, who released their debut in May of 2017. The band briefly toured the western U.S. in support of the release. In July of 2018, Lifeforce Records released the band’s second full length album, titled PASSAGES. This album saw the addition of drummer Patrick Spain. Following the release of PASSAGES, guitarists Isaac Rigler and Forrest Harvey from Oakland doom band DAXMA (Blues Funeral Records) joined Mountaineer, and the band ended a year-long hiatus from playing live. The new lineup changes not only gave the band the ability to play live, but also brought more songwriters into the fold. Throughout 2019 the band collaboratively wrote what was to become MOUNTAINEER’S third full length album, BLOODLETTING, with Lifeforce Records handling the release once again.
