After 10+ years of blazing trails in the psych/sludge/doom/metal scene, Boston rockers Ichabod had finally reached a plateau.

Hoping to continue their personal and musical ascents, the band began to experiment with new tunings, sounds, symbolism, and structures in their songwriting. As with most change, there came growing pains-original singer Ken MacKay and the band decided to gracefully part ways due to variance over the direction much of the new material was taking.

After four acclaimed studio albums (Living Through the End, Let the Bad Times Roll, Reaching Empyrean, and 2012), it appeared as if the sojourn was over.

Remaining members Greg Delaria(bass), Dave Iverson(guitar), and Phil MacKay(drums) did not want to see the fruits of their labor go to waste however. The band had recorded a 40+ minute composition that is a conceptual piece, a salutation to the prog-rock masterpieces of the seventies and more modern epics like Monster Magnet’s Tab, Sleep’s Jerusalem, and Iceburn’s Hephaestus. The musical movements are meant to mimic the movement of a mighty river, specifically the one to which the moniker was dedicated.

Ichabod had also penned another full length’s worth of original songs which were an artistic extension of all their preceding material. They did not want Merrimack and the untitled collection to go unheard, so decided to employ the talents of longtime friend John Fadden on vocals and complete the catalogue before decommissioning.

Ichabod saw the time of flux as opportune for adding to their sonic assault; guitarist and friend Jay Adam was recruited as a second guitar player to ensure the wall of sound would be complete.

Once Fadden and Adam came aboard, the new energy in the rehearsal room was palpable. The brilliant historical/metaphorical lyrics John scribed for Merrimack and the words and melodies he was imparting with the newest material, along with Iverson and Adams' duel guitar mugging, caused an enthusiasm in the band that altered the plan to record their swan song(s) and fade into the sunset.

Ichabod is once again playing shows and actively documenting the newest music with a newfound vigor and earnestness. Both Merrimack and Dreamscapes from Dead Space (tentative working title) are being recorded/produced by Glenn Smith at Amps Vs. Ohms studios in Cambridge, MA and should be released within the year by Rootsucker Records.

The glory hath definitely not yet departed from Ichabod, nay, you could say it has begun anew.

“And she named the child Ichabod-Where is the glory? The glory - That is, the glorious type and assurance of God's presence, the ark, which is often called God's glory, which they could glory in above all other nations.” -1 Samuel 4:21