New Zealand sludge metal band Beastwars to release new covers album »Tyranny Of Distance« on September 13th; first single »Waves« streaming!
New Zealand sludge metal band Beastwars has announced new covers album, »Tyranny Of Distance«, which will see the light on September 13th, 2023.
Listen to the first single and Superette’s cover »Waves«!
Tracklist:
01. Identity (originally performed by The Gordons)
02. Waves (originally performed by Superette)
03. Emmanuelle (originally performed by Snapper)
04. Dark Child (originally performed by Marlon Williams)
05. Looking For The Sun (originally performed by Children’s Hour)
06. High And Lonely (originally performed by Nadia Reid)
07. We Light Fire (originally performed by Julia Deans)
08. Spooky (originally performed by 3Ds)
The band comments: “We’re super proud to announce our 5th album »Tyranny Of Distance«, the vinyl reissue of »Blood Becomes Fire« plus a tour to go with it!
»Tyranny Of Distance« is a covers album that breathes fiery new life into some of our favourite New Zealand songs. These are powerful tracks in their own right – and with the generous support of Panhead Custom Ales – have been contorted and distorted to become something distinctly “Beastwars”.
Listen now to the first single »Waves« featuring Julia Deans (originally performed by Superette) on your preferred streaming platform and pre-order a limited edition vinyl from beastwarsband.com or your favourite local record shop.”
Courtesy of Sheltered Life PR:
Renowned Wellington metallers Beastwars are thrilled to announce the release of their long-awaited fifth studio album, »Tyranny Of Distance«, this October.
Showcasing the band’s remarkable talent for covering a range of artists and genres, the album spans across four decades of New Zealand’s rich musical history. Featuring reimagined tracks by acts such as The Gordons, Superette, Snapper, Marlon Williams, The 3Ds and more, Beastwars have extracted, mutated and distorted riffs to create a fresh and characteristically powerful sound.
The concept behind the album took root several years ago when vocalist Matthew Hyde expressed his admiration and desire to cover Marlon Williams’s »Dark Child«. The band didn’t pursue the idea until 2022 when they were approached to contribute a song to a Soundgarden tribute album. While on hiatus with band members facing personal challenges, the prospect of creating new, original music felt seemingly impossible. Yet they quickly discovered that the act of making music together was not only healing and cathartic but incredibly enjoyable. This realisation led to the resurrection and expansion of the idea to cover Williams’ song, marking the beginning of an ambitious journey involving shortlisting songs, seeking artists’ blessings, uncovering the inspirations behind the tracks, and even undertaking the challenging quest to decipher long-lost lyrics from original recordings.
Photo by David James
Panhead Custom Ales, local institution and renowned champions of rock music and custom car culture stepped up to show their unwavering support for Beastwars by embracing a simple proposition: “Would you finance the band’s recording of hot-rodded New Zealand songs?” Their answer? A resounding, “hell yeah!”
»Waves«, the first single from »Tyranny Of Distance« – featuring Fur Patrol’s Julia Deans and originally performed by ’90s Flying Nun act, Superette – exemplifies the band’s experimental approach when pushing the boundaries of the source material. With two Superette songs initially considered for the project, Beastwars based the song on the monolithic riff from »Saskatchewan«, overlaying the haunting lyrics and melody of »Waves« to carry the pathos of the original, while making it entirely their own.
To celebrate the release of »Tyranny Of Distance«, the band will also embark on a nationwide tour this October and November, with seven dates scheduled across Aotearoa (see below). For live performances, Christian Pearce, who also contributes to Beastwars’ side projects End Boss and Putrid Future, will join the band on guitar duties while original member Clayton Anderson takes a temporary break.
»Tyranny Of Distance« will be released on 13th October 2023 | Pre-order HERE and listen to new single »Waves« HERE!
Obey the Riff, Long Live the Beast!
»Tyranny Of Distance« NZ album tour dates:
13/10 – The Musicians Club, Whanganui
14/10 – Zeal/The Mayfair, New Plymouth
26/10 – Last Place, Hamilton
27/10 – Galatos, Auckland
28/10 – San Fran, Wellington
03/11 – 12 Bar, Christchurch
04/11 – Dive, Dunedin
Tickets on sale now from beastwarsband.com
Vinyl and merch available from beastwars.bandcamp.com
Produced by Nathan Hickey and James Goldsmith.
Recorded and mixed by James Goldsmith.
Mastered by Will Borza.
Original oil on canvas by Nick Keller.
Beastwars is:
Matt Hyde – Vocals
Clayton Anderson – Guitars
James Woods – Bass
Nathan Hickey – Drums
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well