In February 2016, avant-garde composer Glenn Branca conducted a new work titled The Third Ascension over the course of two nights at New York’s experimental venue the Kitchen. Now, recordings from those concerts have been collected into a new album, also called The Third Ascension. The new LP marks the first release from Branca since his death in 2018. It arrives October 4 via SYSTEMS NEUTRALIZERS.

The Third Ascension was written for four electric guitars, bass, and drums. Branca utilized this structure on his legendary 1981 release The Ascension as well as 2010’s The Ascension: The Sequel.

In conjunction with the release of The Third Ascension, the Glenn Branca Ensemble will perform Branca’s works for guitar at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn on October 6 (what would have been Branca’s 71st birthday). The performance will mark the group’s first since Branca passed.

Read “5 Crucial Works from Avant-Garde Icon Glenn Branca” on the Pitch.