METHADONE SKIES

METHADONE SKIES is an independent psychedelic rock group from Timisoara, Romania. Active since 2009, the instrumental quartet has released 5 full length records so far. Each album shares its own musical direction, often leaning into stoner, post-rock and doom metal territories. There were never any boundaries set, so each affair is the sum of various influences and constant sonic exploration.

In 2020, the band remastered the first album, Enter the Void, originally released in 2012. As the 10^th anniversary approached, a vinyl edition was long overdue. Stumbling upon “The Velvet Suit”, a song from the respective era played only live, it marked the perfect occasion to record and include it on the 2LP. A limited run of 300 copies was pressed on white vinyl and will be available on April 14, 2023, a joint release by Methadone Skies and independent Romanian label Supersomnic Records. There is also a cassette tape version available, limited to 40 copies. The pre-sale is now available at THIS LOCATION!

““The Velvet Suit” was a song completed right after we finished tracking Enter the Void in 2011”, says the band about the new song release. “We played it throughout 2012, but for reasons unknown, we never recorded it until last year when we decided to reissue the record in vinyl format. Luckily, our friends at Robust Fest in Kiev issued a cassette tape with our gig at the festival in the same year. We used the live version as the basis for this recording with minimum tweaking. It’s quite a powerful song, mixing straightforward, heavy riffs with a couple of melodic moments in between. We’ve been having a blast playing it again at our gigs last year, so we’re excited to share it now with everyone. A lovely animated video was created for “The Velvet Suit” by Alexandra Dragu and our drummer, Flavius Retea.”

Regarding the vinyl issue of Enter the Void the band comments:

Enter the Void is our first album and a favorite among our fans. When we remastered it in 2020, it was reissued only on CD, because we decided to focus on our then-upcoming LP, Retrofuture Caveman. People have asked us for a vinyl release multiple times over the years and we also felt we hadn’t truly done the remaster justice. As the 10^th anniversary was coming up, we had a number of discussions on how to proceed. Ultimately, we teamed up with independent Romanian label Supersomnic for a limited run of 300 copies, white double LP. We also stumbled upon a song played live around 2012, called “The Velvet Suit”, which was never recorded until last year for inclusion on the vinyl version. Unfortunately, the anniversary was missed due to very long turnover times at the pressing plant. Despite this inconvenience, we’re really happy to finally have it available in this format, as well as cassette tape.

The Enter the Void remaster, as well as the recording of “The Velvet Suit” were handled by Andrei Jumuga, Edmond Karban and Cristian Popescu (members of dordeduh, Sunset in the 12th House) at Consonance Studio in Timisoara, Romania.

Enter the Void tracklist:

Enter the Void
Hyperspace
Long Day’s Journey into Night
Versus Evil
Mudstar
Exit the Void
The Velvet Suit

Methadone Skies are:
Alexandru Wehry – guitar
Casian Stanciu – guitar
Mihai Guta – bass
Flavius Retea – drums, percussion

Romanian psychedelic doom and post-rock collective METHADONE SKIES has announced the details of their upcoming, fifth studio album, entitled Retrofuture Caveman, which is slated for a released on May 7, 2021.

Following their highly acclaimed, 2019- album Different Layers of Fear, the instrumental quartet did not waste any time and started working on their new record during the pandemic. METHADONE SKIES, who formed in 2009, has released 4 full length records so far; each LP shares its own musical direction, often leaning into stoner, post-rock and doom metal territories. Never fearing any boundaries, every album highlights the sum of the band’s various influences and constant sonic exploration.

Retrofuture Caveman dives even deeper into the post-rock and doom metal worlds. These contrasting styles are ultimately blended with progressive elements, a stoner rock touch and psychedelic spheres. While this eclectic mix flows in a perfect balance, Retrofuture Caveman will easily become the band’s most ambitious and mature work to date. But let the music speak for itself, as METHADONE SKIES has just premiered a brand new music video for their first album single, “Infected By Friendship”! The track is one of the most straight-forward and uplifting songs you will find on their new record, gradually exploding into a massive wall of sound. Its surreal music video was created by the band’s drummer, Flavius Retea, and Alexandra Dragu, watch the clip right here:

“We usually pick a heavy song as an album teaser, but this time we tried something different, ” the band comments. “We really dug the song right from the beginning of the creation process and it feels more soothing than many others in our catalog. The title obviously references the pandemic, yet we wanted to give the term a positive twist. Music became even more important for people in these complicated times, so we hope it acts as a sonic getaway from the listener’s daily routine.”

Retrofuture Caveman was recorded in Timisoara, Romania, at Consonance Studio by Edmond Karban, Cristian Popescu and Andrei Jumuga (all of them members of DorDeDuh and Sunset in the 12^th House), and was mixed and mastered by James Plotkin. Additional keyboard layers were added by Marius Muntean (The Thirteenth Sun, Black Water). The album will be released on May 7th as LP Gatefold, CD, Digital formats and a limited Cassette Tape edition through METHADONE SKIES’ own imprint, Haywire Records. The artwork was created by Mihai Manescu (aka Obsidian Nibs).

Album Tracklist: