Californian sludge metallers -(16)- share Black Flag cover »Beat My Head Against The Wall«; »Forgeries Vol 1, 1972-1984« out May 1st on Heavy Psych Sounds!

Santa Ana, California based sludge metal band -(16)- share Black Flag cover »Beat My Head Against The Wall« taken from their upcoming covers album, »Forgeries Vol 1, 1972-1984«, set to release on May 1st, 2026 via Heavy Psych Sounds.

Tracklist:
01. Can’t Get Enough (Scorpions cover)
02. Nausea (X cover)
03. Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll (Blue Öyster Cult cover)
04. Rotten To The Core (Rudimentary Peni cover)
05. Mother Mary (UFO cover)
06. Tragedy (Bee Gees cover)
07. Bloodstains (Agent Orange cover)
08. Beat My Head Against The Wall ( Black Flag cover)
09. St. Vitus Dance (Black Sabbath cover)
10. Foreign Policy (Fear cover)

Courtesy of Purple Sage PR:

Santa Ana, California sludge metal veterans -(16)- team up with Idioteq to premiere their brand new track »Beat My Head Against The Wall«, taken from their upcoming 11th album »Forgeries Vol 1, 1972-1984« to be released on May 1st via Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

🔥 Stream -(16)- sludgy cover of Black Flag’s »Beat My Head Against The Wall« 🔥

There comes a point in every band’s life when originality stops being a virtue and honesty takes the wheel. On their 11th long-playing record: »Forgeries 1972-1984«, -(16)- return to the impulse that first dragged them into loud rooms and bad ideas: the urge to steal what we love and make it semi-unrecognizable through devotion. With covers ranging from the Bee Gees, Scorpions, Black Flag to Blue Öyster Cult, »Forgeries 1972-1984« spans eras and attitudes, unified not by genre but by necessity. Each track is a document of obsession, of influence absorbed and re-expressed without permission.

“We’ve always believed that a great cover is not mimicry but revelation. It’s finding a song that’s already lived inside you since youth and letting it crawl out, bruised and changed.” From the early ’90s onward, -(16)- have treated covers as translations rather than as replicas, acts of tribute and emulation, filtered through distortion, fatigue, and lived experience. “These are songs that taught us how to stand, how to fall, and how to keep going. In our collective head, this album exists because these songs demanded it. »Forgeries 1972-1984« stands as both a thank you note and a theft, a reminder that all music worth a damn is borrowed, broken, and passed on between friends.”

Photo by Chad Kelco

About this new cover, frontman Bobby Ferry says: “Black Flag’s »Beat My Head Against The Wall« was my first real fracture. Punk stopped being us vs them. They turned the blade inward. It became me vs. me, and in retrospect, this song served as the template for the whole inception of -(16)-. We formed in 1992, only eight years after this song was released. A majority of the notes we play can be traced back to this. Instead of ripping it off for 34 years, we finally surrendered and just covered it.”

-(16)- European Tour 2026:
01.05 PT Barroselas – SWR Metalfest
02.05 IT Torino – HPS Fest
03.05 IT Bologna – HPS Fest
04.05 IT Genova – Trinità Live Club
05.05 IT Milano – Legend Club
06.05 IT Pescara – Scumm
07.05 IT Roma – Traffic Live Club
08.05 NO Oslo – Deserfest
10.05 FR Marseille – Le Molotov
13.05 DE Göppingen – Gaststätte Zille
15.05 CH Winterthur – HPS Fest
16.05 UK London – Desertfest
19.05 NL Amsterdam – Toekomst muziek
20.05 DE Bielefeld – Forum
22.05 DE Dürrröhrsdorf – GockelScream
23.05 CZ Brno – Kabinet Muz

New album »Forgeries Vol 1, 1972-1984« out May 1st on Heavy Psych Sounds – Preorder

Formed in 1991 in Santa Ana, California, 16 stylized as -(16)- emerged from the Southern California skate scene. The original lineup featured Bobby Ferry (guitar), Cris Jerue (vocals), Ben Clark (bass), and Jason Corley (drums). Initially called *15*, the band quickly rebranded after discovering another group with the same name. Drawing influence from 7 Seconds, Bad Brains, Metallica, and the Amphetamine Reptile roster, -(16)- developed a sound that helped define both their early years and the sludge subgenre itself.

Their 1993 debut, »Curves That Kick«, arrived on Pushead’s Bacteria Sour and was followed by a Japanese tour and shows with Slayer. »Drop Out« (1996) and »Blaze Of Incompetence« (1997) followed, with Phil Vera joining on guitar. After a 1998 U.S. tour with Grief and the 2002 release »Zoloft Smile«, the band toured the U.S., U.K., and Japan before entering a hiatus in 2004 amid personal struggles.

Reforming in 2007, -(16)- signed to Relapse Records for »Bridges To Burn« (2009), followed by »Deep Cuts From Dark Clouds« (2012). With Bobby Ferry now on vocals, the San Diego–based lineup of Alex Shuster (lead guitar), Barney Firks (bass), Dion Thurman (drums) released »Lifespan Of A Moth« (2016), »Dream Squasher« (2020) and »Into Dust« (2022) to critical acclaim. Heavy touring across the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, plus major festival slots, cemented their reputation for intense, connecting live performances.

In 2025, -(16)- released »Guides For The Misguided« on Relapse Records, which was named one of Decibel Magazine’s Top 40 Albums of the Year. That same year, the band headlined a three-week European tour and later performed select shows in California with Acid Bath, High on Fire and Fu Manchu.

In 2026, the band partnered with Heavy Psych Sounds to release »Forgeries 1972-1984«, a covers album spanning influences from Black Flag to the Bee Gees. That May, they return to Europe for a tour that includes Desertfest Oslo and London, as well as the Italian and Swiss Heavy Psych Sounds Festivals. With a legacy built on resilience and constant reinvention, -(16)- continue to evolve and captivate audiences, affirming their lasting relevance in heavy music.

-(16)- is:
Bobby Ferry – Guitars / Vocals
Alex Shuster – Lead Guitar
Barney Firks – Bass
Dion Thurman – Drums / Percussion

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