NEW LP SET FOR RELEASE VIA SPINEFARM, IN LEAGUE WITH THE BAND'S 'WITCHFINDER RECORDS' IMPRINT
Visually intoxicating, uncompromisingly heavy and revered
for making music and lifestyle one, Electric Wizard have completed work
on their new studio album, title to be confirmed; the album will be the
band's first release through Spinefarm Records.
Formed by vocalist / guitarist Jus Oborn in 1993, Electric Wizard (based in the UK's South-West) have thus far released seven studio albums - an
increasingly influential body of work recorded on vintage analogue gear
with as little technology as possible intruding on the signal
("Protools is for pussies!").
Result: some of the heaviest, dirtiest, most evil-sounding audio ever put to tape, and more importantly to vinyl, with both Come My Fanatics (1997) and Dopethrone (2000) being lauded as landmark releases.
A
cultural as well as a musical force, Electric Wizard have left an
indelible mark on a host of different genres, the likes of doom, stoner
and sludge; at heart, however, they stand as an iconic British metal
band, cast in the great tradition, with lyrics and artwork reflecting
the hypnotic weight of the music, and subject to the same intelligence
and detail.
Wreathed
in occult ritual and drug-culture references, with classic '70s horror
an inspirational seam, Electric Wizard are poised to turn a page;
there's the new deal with Spinefarm Records, plus - after a nine-year
hiatus - the return of Mark Greening (the drummer on Dopethrone),
who completes the line-up of Oborn, US guitarist Liz Buckingham, a key
member since 2003, and new bassist Clayton Burgess (Satan's Satyrs).
Fueled
by strong emotion and the harder sounds of late-'60s Detroit, the
remodeled line-up - isolated by choice, giant stacks glowing red - set
about crafting an eighth studio album to both rival and exceed the
milestone recordings of the past, with Buckingham keeping things
suitably monolithic and the band generally looking back to some of their
earliest influences.
Toerag
Studios in London was once again charged with capturing 'The Sound',
and (encouragingly) words like "raw", "hateful" and "sickeningly heavy"
are being traded.
Says
Oborn: "Our master plan is this. Real metal!! We stand for rebellion,
we are with the kids; we fight, puke, smoke weed, etc... Electric Wizard
is an entity, with its own history, its own symbols, its own
iconography, and with this new album, we wanted to return to basic
values. It's primitive. We needed to claw it back down to the evil core -
sex, drugs, violence, revolution... to go back to being a band that
hung out and jammed hard. No teaching songs, just feeling them out. If
you jam enough and you are on the same level - artistically, musically,
whatever, you gotta be committed - then good music will happen. I
totally believe that..."
Electric Wizard will make the following festival appearances in 2014, with more shows to be added:
May 2 Temples Festival, Bristol, UK (headline)
June 20 Hellfest, Clisson, France (Valley Stage headline)
July 3 Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark (Arena Stage)
July 4 Sonisphere, Knebworth Park, UK (stage headline)
August 16 Jabberwocky, The Excel Centre, London, UK
September 12 Reverence Valada, Portugal (headline with Hawkwind)
ELECTRIC WIZARD are: Jus Oborn - lead vocals, guitars | Liz Buckingham - guitars | Mark Greening - drums, percussion | Clayton Burgess - bass
Established
in 1990, Spinefarm Records is an international rock and metal label
with dedicated offices around the globe. Working with Caroline under the
Universal banner, Spinefarm marries the ethos of the independent to the
clout of the major, developing signature artists worldwide.
-30-
Comments