From the city of El Paso, Texas, home of globally recognized artists: At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Sparta, Pissing Razors, and Khalid, Paul Ward and Adrian Arellano are the founding members of Texas Cut Throat. Over the years they have been involved in many projects, with and without each other, but have consistently devoted themselves to making music together.
Although the writing continually persisted, finding a vocal match plagued the process. In a moment of clarity, Adrian decided to put his bass aside, and take to the mic. It was then that Texas Cut Throat formulated their sound. It can be described as a mix of the cosmic noise of Sigur Ros, the raw, emotional unstableness of Suicidal Tendencies, the high-intensity aggression of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and the unbound soundscape of NIN. It’s heavy, ear battering chaos, in-between melancholic vibrations and beauty.
Their first full length, a concept album titled “Dear Boss,” is slated for a 2020 release. It’s a theme derived from their lifelong fondness of the art of horror films, infamous stories in history and disturbing folklore that connects to the unpleasant nature of the human psyche. Ward said, “When you dig deep into the mind of an unsavory person, perhaps that of a killer, you unearth the inner, complex thoughts of horrible human beings that have negatively shaped the course of innocent people’s lives...and that’s intriguing. Not because it’s something to celebrate, but because it’s a human response that is quite difficult to understand.” TCT’s lyrics on this particular record attempt to expose the minds of Texas serial killers. The listener experience will be a glimpse into something that is often off limits, even in simple conversation. “Society avoids discomfort and the unease that comes with topics that are considered taboo.” Ward said. This album has become a research project that forces the audience to try to perceive the sick perversions that can exist, from the profound internal conflict of these individuals, which is often deeply rooted in the agony that fills their sick minds.
The El Paso Walmart shooting on August 3, 2019 almost halted the decision to bring this album to fruition. Ward stated, “It wasn’t just close to home, it was in OUR home. In the end it left us asking ourselves ‘why?’” The person that committed this atrocity “is not a serial killer in my mind, he carried out a mass murder that was politically motivated. A serial killer is quiet, vindictive, and often blends in while they execute a plan in a calculated way...this monster was just riled up by the political climate that the current president has created, where people think it’s okay to discriminate and be violent towards one another.” Nonetheless, Arellano and Ward couldn’t help but ask ‘What’s in the thought process of someone who acts out in violence?’
These questions led to a desire to discover the answers to why people kill; creating an opportunity to explore the mind and showcase the results through art. “We refuse to investigate the rationale of mass shooters...they don’t deserve our time,” Ward insists. However, for this record, TCT is determined to portray the inner workings of true serial killers; their stories run deeper; there’s layers upon layers. There’s an unknown psychology that TCT seeks to interpret and artistically portray through the subtleties of both lyrics and sound.
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