Australian vintage hard rock/metal outfit Tarot sign with Cruz Del Sur Music; new full-length album out in 2023!

Photo by Scott Bradshaw

Australian vintage hard rock/metal outfit Tarot featuring Wizar’d members has signed a deal with Cruz Del Sur Music for the release of their sophomore full-length album, which will see the light in 2023.

Courtesy of Sure Shot Worx:

Cruz Del Sur Music is proud to announce the signing of Australian vintage hard/rock metal outfit Tarot. The label will release the band’s second studio album sometime in 2023.

Tarot presents a familiar face from Cruz Del Sur Music: The band’s guitarist and vocalist Will Spectre, also leads arcane metallers Wizar’d.

“I got in touch with Cruz Del Sur when I was looking for a label to release the most recent album from Wizar’d,” he says. “Cruz Del Sur did a great job on that and were very supportive of us, so I thought they would be an excellent choice for the new Tarot album. Luckily for us, Cruz Del Sur was also fans of Tarot and agreed to release the album before they had even heard any songs. We are really looking forward to working on the release with them!”

The Tarot journey began in 2011 when Spectre decided to write songs in the vein of Uriah Heep, Rainbow and Deep Purple, bands that, admittedly, he is “obsessed with.” The two-track »Take A Look Around« demo arrived later that year. After honing the production methods needed to capture a warm, analog sound, Tarot released the »Life And Death« EP in 2014.

Two subsequent EPs, »Dying Daze« and »The Watchers Dream« were released in 2014, setting the stage for Tarot’s first full-length, 2016’s »Reflections«. The release of »Reflections« coincided with the expansion of the Tarot lineup to play live. The band now comprises organ and synth player David Harrington-George, guitarist/vocalist Felix Russell, bassist/vocalist Dave Walsh and drummer Mat Frodsham.

“Our current lineup is the strongest and tightest yet,” says Spectre. “I think we work very well together. I couldn’t imagine playing with anyone else. The other guys are also taking on writing duties and have contributed songs to our new album.”

Tarot recently laid down the drums for its aforementioned second full-length album with producer/engineer Joe Haley, with the remainder of the tracking to take place at the band’s home studios. Like previous efforts, Tarot’s new full-length will be self-produced and employ production techniques used in the 1970s.

“I think while the new material is very much in line with the previous stuff, the contributions of the other members will be very noticeable and it may take some people by surprise,” says Spectre. “Everything will be much more lively than before, and there will be a fairly distinct difference in the performance since, for the most part, the older recordings were me working on my own. Fans of our previous works won’t be disappointed, though!”

Tarot is:
Will Spectre – Vocals, Guitar
Felix Russell – Guitar, Vocals
David Walsh – Bass, Vocals
Mat Frodsham – Drums
Dave Harrington-George – Organ, Synthesizers

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well