The wilds of Colorado brought forth the three men of Matterhorn. Daniel Harvey, Jeremy Grobsmith and Aaron Retka have played together for a decade, first in the tech-violence quartet the Great Redneck Hope, whose two full-lengths remain required listening for the genre. Now, as Matterhorn, they've condensed into a thundering instrumental three-piece, relying on low-grade musical telepathy and a collective half-century of musical experience.

Matterhorn's debut release, Vol. 1. The world began without man ... is the first part of a diptych of theme albums, Vol. 1. providing a bleak and scientifically plausible series of events that rinse life from the Earth. (Vol. 2 will pick up where Vol. 1 leaves off.) Over the course of the album, Matterhorn provides a auditory tour of the end of man, alternately blistering and mild, bombastic and stark. This, along with their explosive live show, should do well in helping secure their legacy.