The Offering

American modern metal powerhouse THE OFFERING return on their venturesome sophomore album, Seeing the Elephant. Moored by nimble-fingered, no-rules songcraft and real-world, incendiary leitmotifs, the quartet of Alexander Richichi (vocals), Nishad George (guitar), Spencer Metela (bass), and Steve Finn (drums) deliver super-heavy music for super-heavy times. There’s heartbreak, disbelief, and disaffection imbued in Seeing the Elephant. Yet, through the toil, anger, and agony on focus tracks “W.A.S.P.,” “Tiny Disappointments,” “Flower Children,” and “My Heroine,” THE OFFERING’s watchful message of hope resonates. If EP The Offering (2017) and fan-celebrated and critically-acclaimed debut album, HOME (2019), demonstrated raw potential and what comes after, then Seeing the Elephant is THE OFFERING defiantly jetting into and out of the stratosphere. 

“We created this one-of-a-kind, atmospheric monster of an album,” says guitarist/songwriter Nishad George. “[It’s] ripe with the evolution of each of us as players. The strong political undertones, in combination with the integration of those experimental processes, lead to this accomplishing our goal of making something that felt similar to that of a journalistic war photographer account. We’re unbelievably proud of this album for all we were able to capture during such a chaotic couple of years.” 

Principally, Seeing the Elephant started in 2019 but was ultimately birthed during the vile heart of the pandemic—and the tribulations that came with it. Like the rest of his bandmates in THE OFFERING, frontman Alexander Richichi had to cope with new life under lockdown but also witnessed humanity’s ugliest aspects during the George Floyd protests in 2020. Alexander sourced the album title, Seeing the Elephant, from experiencing these events. The epigram—similar to a pyrrhic victory—is particularly American, often attributed to the American Civil War, the Westward Expansion Trails, and the brothels of the American West. On the other hand, Nishad went through a different set of ordeals. The album intimately connects the accomplished song-master to his cancer-stricken father. There are inflection points throughout Seeing the Elephant, but “Tipless” and “My Heroine”—featuring Indian Classical players Purna Prasad and Shuba Gunapu on the mridangam and veena, respectively—are especially poignant. 

“Finishing this album was, honestly, the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do,” Nishad says. “There was this sense of momentum… releasing HOME, touring, working with Body Count, then suddenly it’s all gone. On top of losing that, from the start of making the album in 2020, my dad began to lose his battle with cancer, which is why I set out to do this. So, with all that happening, all that uncertainty and loss of purpose, I surrendered to the fact that I couldn’t control the world and coped by making this album with my gang as best as I could. We finished the album a week before my dad passed away, not before he could listen to it. He told me it was the greatest album he’d ever heard from me. I think so, too.” 

As stated, THE OFFERING’s outlook on the world paints a grim, if antagonistic lyrical picture. Richichi personalizes his experiences (and thoughts) with abusive authorities and combines his malcontent with the gut-wrenching unease of the pandemic in “Rosefire.” He witnessed the proverbial elephant manifested daily. While “Flower Children” offers tongue-in-cheek commentary on the peace inversion of hippies-turned-authoritarians, prog-minded touchstone “Esther Weeps,” featuring Cerce vocalist Becca Cadalzo, tackles how religion and societal structures are expressly architected to repress women. If there ever was a time for intelligent yet passionate outcry, it’s now with Seeing the Elephant. 

“Seeing the Elephant is an album of extremes,” says vocalist/lyricist Alexander Richichi. “From its inception in 2020, I was overwhelmed by the innate need to express that we are complex people in a complicated space, with a distrust of humanity, authority, and our ability to cope with ‘unprecedented times.’ While battling with very [meta]physical events in 2020, I watched the empathetic eyes of my loved ones fill with more fear and anguish every day. I was numbly overcome with rage and put myself in harm’s way to indulge in the suffering of the current situation, to fight for what I believe was and is just. Seeing the Elephant is a glimpse into the perils of our time, what is and should be righted in society—a reflection of what should no longer be tolerated.” 

Seeing the Elephant was recorded by Nishad at God City Studios (Cave In, Oathbreaker) in Salem, Massachusetts. Engineers Zach Weeks and Tyler Dack were folded into the sessions from the outset to ensure best practices were followed, and THE OFFERING’s significant sonic tendencies were spotlighted. Grammy award-winning engineer Alan Douches (Thrice, Gatecreeper, Zeal & Ardor) helmed the mastering of Seeing the Elephant. In effect, the absolute wilds of “W.A.S.P.,” “My Heroine,” “Ghostmother,” and the title track were nurtured and encouraged by the production team. THE OFFERING’s artful pulses have never been more dramatic and afire. 

“The one thing I wanted to do differently with this album was to make it feel more like a home-grown effort,” Nishad says. “I roped in one of my best friends from this journey, Zach Weeks of God City Studios, to help with the engineering. Zach is one of the most intelligent engineers in music right now—Kurt Ballou hand-picked him to God City Studios for a reason. He’s got an incredible gift and passion for dissecting sounds. I would say that all of my mechanics as a producer came from the things I learned hanging out with him as a teen, so naturally, no one understood my engineering language and workflow better than Zach. Having him on the project felt like an extension—a fifth member—of THE OFFERING.” 

Turmoil and the beauty in its resolution have always played intrinsic roles in THE OFFERING’s multi-faceted, high-wire metal. That expression is undoubtedly complemented by the group’s superb musicianship and intrepid songwriting prowess. If feral sophistication and stormy protest ever needed a companion, it’s in the polychromatic cover piece by digital artist Taylor Adam. THE OFFERING found the perfect visual to describe literally and metaphorically what Seeing the Elephant is all about. Strap in, folks. THE OFFERING have upped the ante, and there’s no turning back.