After an 18 month hiatus that the world has taken from live concerts due to the Covid-19 lockdown, America’s multi-platinum rockers TESLA are announcing their return to performing live concerts with the “LET’S GET REAL!” tour – kicking off August 5th in Grants Pass, Oregon. The tour will include shows with legendary artists Styx, Kid Rock, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and will continue until November 2021 – hitting the continental USA and Mexico.
Frank Hannon: “We are so excited and anxious to get back to performing ‘real’ live concerts again. There’s nothing like the energy of being in the same spontaneous moment with an audience of people. Tesla has always taken pride in being a high energy live band relying on performances without any backing tracks or pre-recorded help. We are planning some surprises for our fans on this upcoming tour by playing some deeper Tesla cuts as well as a fresh brand new song we just wrote. Of course we will play the hits as well, but introducing a fresh new track on this return is something we are very excited about!”
Tickets and special VIP Soundcheck packages are on sale now at www.TeslaTheBand.com
TESLA: Over the course of their thirty-five year + career, the iconic Sacramento melodic hard rock quintet—Frank Hannon (guitar), Brian Wheat (bass), Jeff Keith (lead vocals), Troy Luccketta (drums), and Dave Rude (guitar)—sold more than 25 million albums domestically and played globally to sold-out crowds far and wide. To say TESLA live is absolutely bombastic is an understatement, they are a hard rock band to beat all hard rock bands.
TESLA 2021 TOUR DATES: (more dates to be added)
Aug. 5 – Grants Pass OR (Josephine County Fairgrounds) Aug. 6 – Grand Ronde OR (Spirit Mountain Casino) Aug. 9 – Sturgis SD (Full Throttle Saloon) Aug. 11 – Harris MI (Island Resort & Casino) Aug. 12 – Harris MI (Island Resort & Casino) Aug. 14 – Dubuque IA (Q Casino & Hotel: Back Waters Stage) Aug. 15 – Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort (Mt Pleasant, MI) * w/ Kid Rock Aug. 18 – Des Moines IA (Iowa State Fair) * w/ STYX Aug. 20 – Island Lake IL (Bands in the Sand at 3D Sideouts) Aug. 21 – St. Louis MO (The Pageant) Aug. 24 – Anderson IN (Paramount Theatre) Aug. 25 – Wabash IN (Honeywell Center) Aug. 27 – Holmdel NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Sept. 16 – Roanoke VA (Dr Pepper Park) Sept. 17 – Ocean City MD (O.C. Bike Fest) Sept. 19 – New York NY (Irving Plaza) Sept. 21 – Hampton Beach NH (Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom) Sept. 23 – Mansfield MA (Xfinity Center) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Sept. 27 – Morrison CO (Red Rocks Amphitheatre) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Oct.1. – Irvine CA (Fivepoint Amphitheatre) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Oct. 16 – Pigeon Forge TN (Monsters on the Mountain Festival) Oct. 25 – October 30 -Quintana Roo MX (The Sands 2021 at Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort) Nov. 5 – Knoxville TN (Thompson Boling Arena) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Nov. 6 – Charleston WV (Charleston Coliseum) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Nov. 9 – Charlotte, NC (The Fillmore) Nov. 13 – Greensboro NC (Greensboro Coliseum) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Nov. 14 – Atlanta, GA (Coca Cola Roxy) Nov. 19 – Bossier City LA (Century Link Center) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd Nov. 20 – Tupelo MS (BancorpSouth Arena) * w/ Lynyrd Skynyrd
On September 3rd, TUESDAY THE SKY will release their new album, The Blurred Horizon, via Metal Blade Records. For a first preview of the record, the new single, “Hypneurotic” – which features drummer Gavin Harrison – can be heard at: metalblade.com/tuesdaythesky, where The Blurred Horizon can also be pre-ordered in various formats.
Tuesday The Sky‘s origins could almost be considered accidental. Guitarist Jim Matheos, famed for his work with progressive metal giants Fates Warning alongside projects such as OSI and his collaboration with John Arch, Arch/Matheos, penned a few songs that did not fit in with any of his established outlets, and intrigued by this, decided to write more and see where this took him. The result was 2017’s Drift, a record that drew influence from the likes of Brian Eno, Sigur Ros, Boards Of Canada and Explosions In The Sky, and now he returns with its successor, The Blurred Horizon. A mixture of ambient, electronica, post-rock and more, The Blurred Horizon is perhaps best described as a beautiful record, having a natural grace to it. While predominantly the work of Matheos, he is not the sole performer on the record, enlisting the help of other musicians where necessary. “It’s primarily a solo project, but with the idea of having different guests on each record to help fill it out and, hopefully, give each one a slightly different sound. With the first record, there was Anna Lynne Williams on vocals for a couple of songs, and Lloyd Hanney of God Is An Astronaut on drums. For this one, the live drums on five tracks were handled by Gavin Harrison of The Pineapple Thief, King Crimson, and Porcupine Tree. He’s my absolute favorite drummer, so he was the first person I thought of when I decided that some of the songs could benefit from real drums. I originally was thinking of just one or two songs, but once I heard how good he made them sound, I kept asking him do more, which, thankfully, he agreed to. His playing added a whole new dimension to the songs, particularly on ‘Hypneurotic’, where he plays two different full drum kit takes, panned left and right, to achieve a kind of ‘double drummer’ effect.”
“Everything Is Free” – the closing track and only one on the record to include vocals – is a cover of a Gillian Welch and David Rawlings song from 2001. “Fates Warning were thinking about doing some cover tunes as bonus tracks for ‘Long Day Good Night’ (2020), and when that didn’t happen, I kept this one in mind for a future project. It seemed to fit nicely here, even though it’s an otherwise instrumental album, and the vocals are by Tim Bowness. Like Gavin, Tim is someone I’ve worked with in the past, with OSI and several other projects. He’s got a beautiful voice and his gentle delivery is just what I wanted for this one.”
The Blurred Horizon track-listing 1. Half Remembered 2. Near Light 3. Cwmwl 4. Where the Enemy Sleeps 5. Laudanum Dream 6. Hypneurotic 7. Later, Then Now 8. Near Dark 9. Half Forgotten 10. The Blurred Horizon 11. Everything Is Free
Metal Blade Records is proud to welcome CRYPTIC SHIFT to its worldwide roster!
Founded by Xander Bradley and Ryan Sheperson, and later joined by John Riley and Joss Farrington, Cryptic Shift have become a continual leading force in the next generation of extreme music. 2016’s EP, Beyond the Celestial Realms, and 2017’s single, “Cosmic Dreams”, built anticipation for Cryptic Shift‘s debut full-length record, Visitations from Enceladus – one of the highest critically acclaimed debut releases of the last decade. Showcasing Cryptic Shift‘s unique take on progressive and technical death/thrash metal and sci-fi themes, Visitations from Enceladus takes listeners beyond the limits of planet Earth musically and conceptually – the first episode of perhaps the greatest musical sci-fi adventure of all time…
Now, after having signed with Metal Blade Records, Cryptic Shift are working towards building on their previously established phenomenal die-mensionominal Astrodeath, following on from the themes and concepts found on their debut record, Visitations from Enceladus.
Cryptic Shift comments: “We are pleased to announce we have signed with none other than Metal Blade Records. We are looking forward to developing Astrodeath alongside one of the greatest record labels on planet Earth and continuing our cosmic crusade across the hemispheres. Writing for the conceptual follow up of ‘Visitations from Enceladus’ has begun, and we look forward to performing worldwide in the near future!”
Stay tuned for more news to come – the saga continues!
In the meantime, fans can catch the first performances of Visitations from Enceladus – in its entirety! – on Cryptic Shift‘s headlining “Return to Earth” 2021 UK tour this September. See below for all dates!
Cryptic Shift “Return to Earth” 2021 tour dates Sept. 4th – Manchester, UK – AATMA Sept. 5th – York, UK – Fulford Arms Sept. 6th – Cardiff, UK – Fuel Sept. 7th – Derby, UK – The Hairy Dog Sept. 8th – Newcastle, UK – Trillians Sept. 9th – Edinburgh, UK – Opium Sept. 10th – Leeds, UK – BOOM Sept. 11th – London, UK – Nambucca Sept. 12th – Nottingham, UK – The Angel
“Judas Priest’s curated box set representing 50 heavy metal years is the ultimate treasure trove defining the bands unwavering commitment to keeping and defending the heavy metal faith” – Rob Halford
“If there’s one box set you should have in your Heavy Metal collection it should be this one – it’s immortal – proclaiming and truly representing Metal for over 50 years – Flying the Flag and proudly leading the way inspiring many bands throughout the years—-this 42 CD selection says it all——it’s a big part of Metal history and as such will live forever…..” – Glenn Tipton
“AMAZING – 50 years of metal crammed into a small box…..!!” – Ian Hill
One of heavy metal’s greatest bands JUDAS PRIEST are set to release a mammoth limited edition box set which will include every official live and studio album to date plus 13 unreleased discs. This is the most extensive release of previously unreleased music the band have made from their vast archives – a real treat for fans. Restored and mixed by Tom Allom at La Cucina W8 and mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios. This special release will be out on October 15th 2021 via Sony Music.
This special box set comes as the band finally get the opportunity to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a headline slot at Bloodstock Festival in the UK plus the launch of a US tour this Autumn The 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour is fueled by the highest charting album of Priest’s career ‘Firepower’ which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 and #5 in the UK.
Judas Priest originally formed in 1970 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). The original nucleus of musicians would go on to change the face of heavy metal. Throughout the 70’s Priest were responsible for helping trail blaze metal with such classic offerings as ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ (1976) ‘Sin After Sin’ (1977) and ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ (1978) as well as one of the genre’s top live recordings ‘Unleashed in the East’ (1979) among others.
It was during the 80’s that Priest conquered the world becoming a global arena headliner on the strength of such all-time classics as ‘British Steel’ (1980) and ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ (1982) as well as being one of the first metal bands to be embraced by the then-burgeoning MTV plus performing at some of the decades biggest concerts (1980’s Monsters of Rock, 1983’s US Festival and 1985’s Live Aid) and being the first to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. Priest’s success continued throughout the 90’s and beyond with the addition of drummer Scott Travis as evidenced by such additional stellar offerings as ‘Painkiller’ (1990) ‘Angel of Retribution’ (2005) and ‘A Touch of Evil: Live’ (2009) the latter of which saw Priest win a Grammy Award for a killer rendition of the classic ‘Dissident Aggressor’
In 2011 new guitarist Richie Faulkner came in to replace KK Downing who had left in 2010 – the move seemed to have reinvigorated the band as evidenced by a show-stealing performance on the ‘American Idol’ Finale that also served as Faulkner’s debut performance with the band (also in 2011 was the release of a new compilation ‘The Chosen Few’ which included Priest classics selected by some of metal’s biggest names) and the ‘Epitaph’ concert DVD in 2013.
Priest’s next studio effort would arrive in 2014 – ‘Redeemer of Souls’ which was supported by another strong tour. In 2017 (and again in 2019) Judas Priest received a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and got ready to unleash their latest studio album ‘Firepower’ (produced by Andy Sneap and Tom Allom) which received global success and critical acclaim. In 2020 a fully official and authorized photographic book ‘Judas Priest: 50 Heavy Metal Years’ was issued.
A Reflections Edition of the box set will also be available to purchase in CD and 2LP formats.
50 HEAVY METAL YEARS OF MUSIC – TRACKLISTING
CDs housed in mini LP Japanese-style wallets
Box set designed by long-time Judas Priest collaborator Mark Wilkinson
Includes Ross Halfin photos signed by each band member:
Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner, Scott Travis
Numbered British Steel metal razor blade (blunt)
Memorabilia book featuring rare photos, posters, adverts and passes
Replica British Steel tour programme
Two Replica Tour posters from:
British Steel 1980 German Tour Defenders Of The Faith 1984 European Tour
CD1 – Rocka Rolla CD2 – Sad Wings of Destiny CD3 – Sin After Sin (1977) CD4 – Stained Glass (1978) CD5 – Killing Machine – (1978) CD6 – Unleashed In the East (Live in Japan 1979) CD7 – British Steel CD8 – Point Of Entry CD9 – Screaming for Vengeance CD10 – Defenders of the Faith CD11 – Turbo CD12 & CD13 – Priest… Live! CD14 – Ram It Down CD15 – Painkiller CD16 – Jugulator CD17 & CD18 – ’98 Live Meltdown CD19 – Demolition CD20 & CD21 – Live in London CD22 – Angel of Retribution CD23 – Nostradamus (Act 1) & CD24 – Nostradamus (Act 2) CD25 – A Touch Of Evil Live CD26 & CD27 – Redeemer of Souls CD29 – Firepower
5 previously unreleased live stereo recordings from the archives Restored and edited by Tom Allom at La Cucina W8 Mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios, London
CD30 & CD31 – Live In Atlanta ’82 (Previously Unreleased)
CD30 The Hellion / Electric Eye Riding on the Wind Heading Out to the Highway Metal Gods Bloodstone Breaking the Law Sinner Desert Plains The Ripper Diamonds and Rust
CD31 Devils Child Screaming for Vengeance You’ve Got Another Thing Coming Victim of Changes Living After Midnight The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) Hell Bent For Leather
CD32 – Live At The Mudd Club ’79 Hell Bent For Leather Delivering The Goods Running Wild Beyond The Realms Of Death The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) Victim Of Changes Rock Forever Starbreaker
CD33 & CD34 – Live In Houston ’86
CD33 Out In The Cold Locked In Heading Out To The Highway Metal Gods Breaking The Law Love Bites Some Heads Are Gonna Roll The Sentinel Private Property Desert Plains Rock You All Around The World
CD34 The Hellion/ Electric Eye Turbo Lover Freewheel Burning Victim Of Changes The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) Living After Midnight You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ Hell Bent For Leather
CD35 & CD36 – Live In New Haven ’88
CD35 The Hellion/ Electric Eye Metal Gods Sinner Breaking The Law Come And Get It I’m a Rocker The Sentinel The Ripper Beyond The Realms Of Death Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
CD36 Turbo Lover Ram It Down Heavy Metal Victim Of Changes The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) Living After Midnight You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ Hell Bent For Leather
CD37 – Los Angeles ’90 (Previously Unreleased) Riding on the Wind Grinder Heading Out to the Highway Between the Hammer & the Anvil Bloodstone Better by You, Better Than Me Leather Rebel The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) Hell Bent for Leather You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
CD38 – London ’81(Previously Unreleased) Solar Angels Intro / Heading Out to the Highway Metal Gods Hell Bent for Leather Breaking the Law Sinner Beyond the Realms of Death Grinder Desert Plains You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise Victim of Changes The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)
CD39 – Denver ’80 (Previously Unreleased) Hell Bent for Leather The Ripper Running Wild Living After Midnight Sinner Beyond the Realms of Death You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise Grinder Victim of Changes Steeler Genocide Tyrant The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)
CD40 – Irvine ’91 (Previously Unreleased) Hell Bent for Leather Heading Out to the Highway The Hellion / Electric Eye Diamonds and Rust All Guns Blazing Metal Gods Some Heads Are Gonna Roll The Ripper Night Crawler Turbo Lover A Touch of Evil Painkiller The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) Breaking the Law Living After Midnight You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
CD41 & CD42 – Beyond Live & Rare Previously unreleased stereo recordings from the archives
CD41 Epitaph (Studio Demo) Demo from 1976’s Sad Wings Of Destiny Solar Angels (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium Sinner (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium Desert Plains (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium Genocide (Live) May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre Victim Of Changes (Live) May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre Ripper (Live) May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre Screaming For Vengeance (Live) November 24, 1982 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Convention Center The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (Live) June 07, 1981 – Odessa, TX – Ector County Coliseum Victim of Changes (Live) June 07, 1981 – Odessa, TX – Ector County Coliseum
CD42 Tyrant (Live) June 07, 1981 – Odessa, TX – Ector County Coliseum Diamonds and Rust (Live) February 14, 1981 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Jaap Edenhal White Heat Red Hot (Live) July 29, 1978 – Tokyo, Japan – Yuubin Chokin Hall Better By You Better Than Me (Live) July 29, 1978 – Tokyo, Japan – Yuubin Chokin Hall Starbreaker (Live) July 29, 1978 – Tokyo, Japan – Yuubin Chokin Hall Rock Forever (Live) Killing Machine Tour – February 09, 1979 – Tokyo, Japan – Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan Evil Fantasies (Live) Killing Machine Tour – February 09, 1979 – Tokyo, Japan – Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan Troubleshooter (Live) World Wide Blitz Tour – February 29, 1981 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Rhein-Main-Halle Grinder (Live) World Wide Blitz Tour – February 29, 1981 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Rhein-Main-Halle The Sentinel (Live) May 02, 1984 – Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum Freewheel Burning (Live) May 02, 1984 – Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum All Guns Blazing (Live) August 17, 1991 – Montreal, QC, Canada – Forum de Montreal Painkiller (Live) March 26, 1991 – Sheffield, England – Sheffield City Hall Mother Sun (Live) October 11, 1975 – Slough, England – Slough College
REFLECTIONS – 50 HEAVY METAL YEARS OF MUSIC 1CD Let Us Prey / Call for the Priest You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise Fever Eat Me Alive All Guns Blazing Never The Heroes Dissident Aggressor (Live) Out in the Cold (Live) Judas Priest – Running Wild (Live) *Victim Of Changes (Live) (May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre) *The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) (Live) (Point of Entry ‘Worldwide Blitz’ Tour – Live in Hammersmith, London – November 21, 1981 – Foundations Forum – Hammersmith Odeon) *Bloodstone (Live) (Screaming For Vengeance World Vengeance Tour – Live in Atlanta, GA – December 11, 1982 – The Omni) *Judas Priest – The Ripper (Live) (Irvine, CA – July 12, 1991 – Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre) *Beyond the Realms of Death (Live) (Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather Tour – Live In New York, NY – March 11, 1979 – The Mudd Club) *The Hellion / Electric Eye (Live) (Turbo ‘Fuel For Life’ Tour – Live In Houston, TX – June 21, 1986 – The Summit) *Sinner (Live) (Ram It Down ‘Mercenaries Of Metal’ Tour – Live In New Haven, CT – August 7, 1988 – New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
*previously unreleased
REFLECTIONS – 50 HEAVY METAL YEARS OF MUSIC 2LP DOUBLE GATEFOLD RED VINYL, 180GSM
SIDE A Let Us Prey / Call for the Priest You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise Fever Eat Me Alive
SIDE B All Guns Blazing Never The Heroes Dissident Aggressor (Live) Out in the Cold (Live) Judas Priest – Running Wild (Live)
SIDE C *previously unreleased* Victim Of Changes (Live) (May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre) The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) (Live) (Point of Entry ‘Worldwide Blitz’ Tour – Live in Hammersmith, London – November 21, 1981 – Foundations Forum – Hammersmith Odeon) Bloodstone (Live) (Screaming For Vengeance World Vengeance Tour – Live in Atlanta, GA – December 11, 1982 – The Omni) Judas Priest – The Ripper (Live) (Irvine, CA – July 12, 1991 – Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre)
SIDE D *previously unreleased* Beyond the Realms of Death (Live) (Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather Tour – Live In New York, NY – March 11, 1979 – The Mudd Club) The Hellion / Electric Eye (Live) (Turbo ‘Fuel For Life’ Tour – Live In Houston, TX – June 21, 1986 – The Summit) Sinner (Live) (Ram It Down ‘Mercenaries Of Metal’ Tour – Live In New Haven, CT – August 7, 1988 – New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
Canadian tech death rising stars DEVIANT PROCESS will be releasing their sophomore full-length, ‘Nurture,’ on October 15, 2021! The album art, details, and tracklist can be found below. The vicious new single, “Asynchronous,” can be heard via the official Season of Mist YouTube channel HERE.
The band comments on the track, “‘Asynchronous’ embodies the new direction of songwriting for the band, showing how we managed to carefully assemble the more eclectic elements of our music in a coherent way. It is a song that is without compromise, laying bare the soul of the band and really setting up the stage for the whole album.”
DEVIANT PROCESS have furthermore unveiled the artwork of ‘Nurture’, which is created by Sien-Sébastien.
Tracklist: 1. In Worship, In Blood (07:32) 2. Emergence (05:20) 3. Asynchronous (05:42) 4. The Hammer Of Dogma (05:50) 5. Syrtis Magna (05:57) 6. Homo Homini Deus (04:37) 7. The Blessings Of Annihilation Infinite (07:49) 8. Cybervoid (Obliveon cover) (03:56) Total playing time: 46:43
Too often in metal, limits and boundaries are pushed at the expense of taste. Bands and fans alike can be found showering bursts of attention onto the latest hotshots redlining along at the fastest BPMs, at whose got the most unintelligibly guttural vocals, at who can generate the most indistinguishably chaotic guitar tone and/or how picture-perfect and sanitized rhythm sections can deliver their click-tracked wares. More often than not, all this comes at the expense of clarity, soul, groove and, most importantly, good songs. For Québec City’s Deviant Process, this sort of thing has been happening too much and for too long. And while the progressive tech-death quartet are tuned in to their surroundings, the band have made a conscious decision to drop out, but not before turning on those obsessed with the likes of classic Death, Cynic and Pestilence as well as contemporaries Obscura, Beyond Creation and Fractal Universe with Nurture, their second full-length and first for Season of Mist.
“We aren’t the kind of band where it’s ‘showing off first, music second,’” exclaims guitarist/vocalist Jean-Daniel Villeneuve. “We want to have great compositions with solid ideas and structures. We want the listener to be able to sing the song, to be able to remember every passage and every riff, not just thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m surrounded by 11,000 notes a second.’ We didn’t want to check tech-death boxes about what BPM we needed to have blast beats at, using the same amps this big band used or how much shredding we needed to include. We don’t want to be a band that’s only about achievements in technical ability. We want great music and that’s been our goal since the beginning.”
“The container is more important than the contents,” guitarist Stéphane Simard sums up. “We take time to have really good structures first before adding all the harmonies, melodies and musicianship stuff.”
Deviant Process’ history goes back to 2008 with Villeneuve kicking out the one-man symphonic black metal jams under the guise of Psychic Pain. A self-produced demo caught the attention of fellow axe-swinger and musical soul mate, Simard, who together with bassist Pierre-Luc Beaulieu and drummer Olivier Genest, completed the band’s original lineup. In 2011, the foursome recorded two-track debut EP Narcissistic Rage after a common bond led to a shift in musical direction.
“Psychic Pain was a solo project,” remembers Villeneuve, “and when Steph and I came together, more brutal and technical death metal was the common ground between the two of us. So, we decided to go that way because that’s more how we thought about music together and it fit better.”
Following the release of Narcissistic Rage, Deviant Process honed their chops on local stages, opening for the likes of Cryptopsy and Revocation, and in rehearsal rooms, delving deeper into the ways and means of expanding technical death metal beyond jaw-dropping tempos and flashy fretboard finger gymnastics. Replacing Genest with drummer Antoine Baril (who produced and engineered Narcissistic Rage) introduced broader rhythmic elements to the new material, everything from rock-solid four-on-the-floor heavy metal pounding to side-winding jazz and hi-brow classical percussion. In the summer of 2013, the band entered Baril’s Hemisphere Studio with the help of Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy, Beneath the Massacre, Ingested, Ophidian I) to capture what would become debut album, Paroxysm. To say their first full-length endeavor was a challenge is an understatement. During what ended up being a three-year operation, François Fortin took over both production and drumming duties, production work shifted studio locations from Hemisphere to La Boîte Noire, and the insanely busy Baril (who also plays in Augury, From Dying Suns and Contemplator and owns the studio in which Paroxysm was recorded) made the decision to leave the band during the mixing process. By the production had been completed, bassist/lyricist Philippe Cimon replaced Beaulieu.
Deviant Process may have been bruised and battered by the end of the process, but they emerged stronger, more intent and focused, with a new lease on life, a solid lineup (drummer Francois C. Fortin replaced Michel Bélanger, who had stepped up after Baril left) and Paroxysm which was initially released by recently shuttered Canadian label, PRC Music. Paroxysm was supported by slots opening for the likes of Archspire, First Fragment, Beyond Creation and Gorod. But it was a mini-tour in the band’s home province opening for Gorguts and Dysrhythmia in 2017 that brought them to the attention of Season of Mist. The band and label felt each other out, went into negotiations and finalized a deal in 2018.
“We were a really small band with an album released on a really small label when [SoM label boss] Michael [Berberian] approached us…” begins Simard.
“…He said that some people in the US office told him about the band and the album,” finishes Villeneuve. “He liked it, made a proposal for the next album and then sent a contract. I still don’t know who told him about us, but that’s the story, as dull as it is!”
This brings us to the present and forthcoming second album, Nurture. Its seven songs (and one cover, of Obliveon’s “Cybervoid”) are an expansive marvel of not just technical death metal maturity, but the seamless inclusion of foreign elements like the tribal fusion middle-eight in “In Worship, In Blood,” the almost free-jazz chaos that introduces and drives “Emergence,” the Latin-folk-meets-British-prog acoustic flourishes in “Syrtis Magna” and tinges of ‘90s Rush weaved into the complex firestorm of “Asynchronous.” It’s a record that the guitar-slinging duo said they officially started working on in the autumn of 2017, so as to take advantage of the opportunity afforded to them by their new label, but one in which the material harkens back to 2008 as the band has been unafraid to dip into its extensive riff bank for the meticulously perfect idea that’ll connect this and that, old with new, brutal and delicate, and balls out with brains out.
“We know when it’s too much and are always thinking about what’s best for the song,” Villeneuve explains. “Some people might want to hear a million notes in a song, but sometimes all you need is a riff with two power chords that will stick in your head. But, we’ve also been known to spend a complete week working on a three-second transition…”
“…Or throwing out a couple minutes of music we’ve worked on because it doesn’t fit with the parts before or after it,” says Simard.
Nurture bobs and weaves like the sonic manifestation of a worryingly tall and fantastically ripped mathematics/quantum physics double-major who spends nights crunching noses and ear cartilage after spending days crunching numbers and calculating the size of the universe. Tidal layers of barbarous guitars engage in a baroque convergence/divergence dance and are bounced off prominent, fusion-inspired bass playing. The drumming stops and spins on a dime from ambient sparseness to clogging every artery of space while Villeneuve unleashes an insanely unholy barrage of black metal screams, death metal growls and full-throated, muscular bellowing, everything being put on display throughout dizzying album centerpiece “The Blessings of Annihilation Infinite.”
“On Nurture, we took a different direction during the writing,” the vocalist says, “to make it more articulate and instrumental. Death metal wasn’t our only guideline for writing music or even what we enjoy; we like jazz, old prog from the ‘70s, classical and we want to play the well-crafted music that we want to hear.”
Thematically, Nurture uses veiled lyrical references and far-reaching metaphors in the exploration of human experience commonalities. What’s being referenced may not be blatantly or entirely revealed, but spend enough time parsing and decoding Philippe Cimon’s lyrics and it’s clear that even if the dude is living in a perpetual game of 3-D chess, he empathizes with what we’re all dealing with and understands where we’re all coming from and where we’re all going.
Says the bassist: “There isn’t a central theme for the lyrics on Nurture. The songs were written over a certain period of time and different themes are explored. A common aspect to every song is the use of esoteric or mythological references to express a relation to a certain theme, be it substance abuse, trauma and its consequences, faith, solitude, or man’s lust for power. However, the themes are sometimes brought up in a way that is very unclear and lets the reader make up his own explanation of the text.”
“There’s no gory stuff or anything typically death metal in our lyrics,” adds Villeneuve. “Our goal is to have the listener be able to associate a lyrical idea to a song. We want the listener to create their own feeling and meaning for the songs. It’s an album where people can really feel the vibe throughout the whole thing, not just from listening to one song. There’s an energy you can feel from our effort and there’s a flow that goes from beginning to the end, a journey that’s speaking in the music.”
With Season of Mist having their backs, Deviant Process has quickly been thrust into an unfamiliar world of having to select and settle on variant vinyl colors, conjure up multiple t-shirt designs, tend to contractual and legal matters, PR responsibilities, out-of-province and international communication and all that fun behind-the-scenes business stuff. The band is still adjusting to industry demands and encountering stressful situations they hadn’t thought of, assumed they’d ever have to consider or even know existed. Ironically, what’s brought them to this point is their own boundless and borderless take on extreme metal. They may be “a small band that wants to be not small,” and Nurture has helped them get their collective foot in the door to a world populated by the stable of bands they blasted while growing up and still blast today when time away from rewriting the rules of technical death metal permit.
“All of my favorite bands since I was young seemed to be signed to Season of Mist,” laughs Simard, “so we are very appreciative of having the opportunity to be on the same label as our idols. We’re still getting used to what we have to do when we’re not playing our instruments…”
“…But we want to go against the grain,” says Villeneuve, again finishing his counterpart’s thought. “We don’t want to just fit in the tech-death box; we want to include anything that opens more possibilities, even if we’re just boring people from a small city in Québec that like and want to play really good music!”
Lineup: Jean-Daniel Villeneuve: guitars, vocals Stéphane Simard: guitars, backing vocals Philippe Cimon: bass Michel Bélanger: drums
Recording Studio: La Boite Noire, David Lizotte (vocals recordings only) Mixing, mastering, production, and sound engineer: François C. Fortin
Cover art: Sien-Sébastien Bio: Kevin Stewart-Panko
THE COLD STARES will release their new studio album ‘Heavy Shoes’, on August 13th via Mascot Records. Today the band has shared a new video for ‘Prosecution Blues’, watch it below.
The duo just ended a10 day outsold tour of Denmark and Sweden to extatic audience respons.
There’s a richness running through the songs with dark, multi-layered narratives that course through every twist and turn. Dirty fuzzed-up rock and roll meet blues, garage, desert rock and a Southern Gothic sensibility. Sombre storytelling is etched into their songs with unflinching honesty. For Chris Tapp and Brian Mullins, authenticity is their hallmark.
“I’m writing from the point of Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner. It needs to have weight to it,” he explains. “There’s not really anything that bothers me to talk about. When you don’t allow yourself to be human and say what’s happened to you, then you make other people that are going through tough shit think that they’re alone.”
Now on their fifth album, the road-worn warriors have crisscrossed the US, playing the Mercury Lounge to the Viper Rooms, and played with Rival Sons, Spoon, Grand Funk Railroad and Thievery Corp. Their music has been streamed over 20m+ times and has featured on TV and games; ESPN, X-Games, Monster Energy, TNT’s Animal Kingdom, Dodge Motors and the smash-hit game CyberPunk 2077.
You want authenticity, take one long cold hard stare at these two. The Cold Stares are a rock ‘n’ roll band, but they take a sledgehammer to the foundation to reveal the cracks that are suppressed within it. With that, allowing themselves to be raw and open to show that, we are not alone.
Track list
Heavy Shoes
40 Dead Men
Take This Body From Me
Hard Times
In The Night Time
Strange Light
Prosecution Blues
It’s A Game
Save You From You
You Wanted Love
Election Blues
Dust In My Hands
Hard Times
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