South Carolina stoner metal band CALUS are returning with their first newly recorded material since their 2006 album Spiritual Warfare. The band’s new six-track EP, "The Evolution of Social Exclusion", is due out on October 2 in digital and CD formats. A vinyl edition is planned for a later release.

Arriving after a roughly 20-year hiatus, the release finds CALUS bringing together sludge-heavy riffs, psychedelic textures and Southern metal influences. Two tracks from the EP have already been released. ‘No Curses’, with its more aggressive approach, pushes the band’s sound into more progressive territory, while ‘Perdition Anthem’ puts its sludge character front and center, offering the first glimpse of the musical direction of this new era.

Both singles are now available to stream on Spotify.

Inline image

The EP features six tracks in total: ‘No Curses’, ‘Perdition Anthem’, ‘Stone Snake’, ‘Strange Gods’, ‘New World Opus’ and ‘Under the Banner(of Attrition)’.

CALUS’ return extends beyond the new recording. The band have also made "Australis Sacro Modus", an EP comprising previously unreleased tracks from their archives, available to stream. The release can be streamed here.

For the "The Evolution of Social Exclusion" era, CALUS’ lineup features Chris Driggers (bass), Harold Smith (drums, vocals), Dustin Holliday (guitars), Rodney Ervin (guitars, vocals) and Jeremy Aiken (vocals).