The Absent’s “The Gospel Of Suffering” Resonates With A Universal Theme

I was super excited when I was given the assignment to write about The Absent for the Annie's Sound Waves blog.  I had heard their first few songs and I thought they were great, but I admit I hadn’t done a deep dive yet into the band’s background. Writing about their new song, “The Gospel Of Suffering”, plus the accompanying music video, which is their first, was the perfect opportunity to get to know them better.

The Absent is a Nu-Metal band based in Wichita, Kansas.  Members include:  Jay Pigmann (Vocals); Jason Catlett (Guitar); Chris McNutt (Guitar); Ryan Davis (Bass); and Aaron Schauf (Drums). This is a relatively new band that originally started producing music as a studio project back in September 2023 and began releasing music in December 2024. 

The founding members honestly weren’t sure at first that it would become a “proper, gigging band”, as Jason Catlett said.  At the time, several of the members (Jason, Chris McNutt, Ryan Davis) had stepped away from another project, so the main focus was to have fun making music and just see what would happen.

Jason and Jay Pigmann had already been writing and releasing music together under Jason’s name as a solo project, so bringing Jay in was a no-brainer, because the two of them had already established a clear path of how and where to take things musically.  So really, at its core, The Absent actually had begun back in October 2021 with Jason and Jay working together.

The most recent member to join is Aaron Schauf. There was a short list of drummers in the area, and he was right at the top. Aaron was very much already in the family since he and Jay play together in another project called FRACTVRED, which is also produced by Jason Catlett. Aaron is the only drummer to play with The Absent, and he is totally crushing it behind the kit. 

The band’s name, “The Absent”, came about pretty easily due to the fact that almost all of their songs are about loss, anxiety, and failure. “We all share in the loss of very close friends and family, making them ‘absent’ from our lives,” Jason said.  Something notable to mention also is that the word was brought to mind by the song “Absent” by Snot.

Songwriting is a team effort for The Absent.  The music is always done first. Jason will write and produce a full composition in his studio, and then it goes over to Jay to write lyrics and melodies. Then the two of them get together over a couple sessions and get everything tracked out, making changes as needed. At that point they bring in Chris and Ryan to lay down bass and additional guitar tracks.

Up until now everything has been written and produced totally in house.  Jason has run recording studios in Wichita for close to a decade now.  However, for the new release, “The Gospel Of Suffering”, they brought in well-known and ultra-talented producer Chris Dawson to mix, and he did add a little bit of extra production to the intro of the song. Jason said he and Chris have known each other and been friends for over 30 years now, so it’s always great when they get to link up and work together on a project.  The band will definitely be doing more with Chris going forward.

Another talented professional in the industry, Kris Crummett, mastered “The Gospel Of Suffering”. Jason said Kris has a very impressive resume of artists he’s worked with. Some of them include Dance Gavin Dance, Sleeping With Sirens, and Issues, among many others.  I did some background research on Kris and I was blown away by all of the projects he's been involved in.

Jason told me that most of The Absent’s songs are about “sad, depressing stuff”. Though it was said somewhat tongue-in-cheek, it’s basically true.  Jay Pigmann explained his lyrics in a Reel I saw on the band’s Facebook page. He said they are his way of dealing with his feelings he’s had about the world falling to pieces around him.  It’s him working through his own existential dread, reactions to loss, and so on.

The new single, “The Gospel Of Suffering”, is based on things everyone experiences in their lives. Jay shared, “It revolves around the concept that suffering is a universal constant that touches every part of reality, and you reach the breaking point in your life where no amount of medication, faith, or perspective feels like it can save you.  You feel yourself fall apart and decay, and you watch the people you love the most suffer from things you can't protect them from. When everything fails and your hope is broken, the only thing you can do is raise your head and scream your truth of your pain and suffering to the sky.”

There is definitely a dramatic aura to “The Gospel Of Suffering”. The musical elements have a haunting quality that are perfectly intertwined with the meaning behind the song.  Jay’s vocals are emotional and expressive and reflect the desperation and anguish brought on by the trials and tribulations he’s experienced in his life.  It’s a window into his soul, and anyone can relate to it because we all go through these things at some point. I’m usually not one to compare a band to others, because each one has its own uniqueness, but if you want to know which bands The Absent reminds me of, it would definitely be Korn, with some vibes of Godsmack and Deftones mixed in.

“The Gospel Of Suffering” video is tremendous. The red lighting concept gives it an intense ambience. The video has a darkness that brings to life the haunting theme of the song.

In an interview the band did on The Sound 228 live podcast July 16th, they were asked about the pig mask.  Jay Pigmann shared that it came about originally from the band’s song “Dirty Little Piggy” that was released back in December. The art for that song, which was done by Jason Catlett, was a man in a business suit wearing a pig mask. Jay thought it would be a cool setup for the band’s image, but he knew he couldn’t sing wearing a full mask. So he found a half mask on Amazon and added his own flair to it along with the goggles.  It’s perfect!

The director of the video for “The Gospel Of Suffering” was the masterful Juan “J.T.” Ibanez.  The band is really happy with how it came out.  This is their fourth single since December, but their first music video. Jason said, “J.T. is a machine. We went into it blindly as far as the look and vibe of the video. We knew how we were going to present our image as a band, but as far as what we shot, we let J.T. run with it. It’s all about trusting the process.”

In addition, Jason said, “We absolutely love J.T.’s work, his work ethic, the quality of his productions, and his amazing production studio. Not to mention he’s an outstanding human being and a good friend.”

The Absent is just getting started with things. They’ve already got more music on deck and will for sure be putting out more videos and content and adding to their show schedule. The band’s first show will be on Thursday, August 7th in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas on the outdoor stage at Brickyard. They’ll be supporting their friends Witch Cradle, and Phantøm Bläck will also be performing.  The ultimate goal for the members of The Absent is simply put – “to take the band as far as they can".

Make sure to follow The Absent on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. They’ve got some great content, and you can even get to know Jay Pigmann’s pet pig, “Ernest Borgswine”, a.k.a. “Ernie”. Trust me, The Absent is a band you need to start following. These guys are amazing and incredible at what they do, and there is sure to be a lot of awesomeness coming from them in the future.

Written by: Annie Schlottman Photo credit: Isaiah Eldridge