Windhand to release new live album from their show on »Levitation Sessions« via The Reverberation Appreciation Society

Richmond, Virginia based psychedelic stoner/doom heavyweights Windhand will release new live album from their show on »Levitation Sessions«, coming out on November 27th, 2020 via The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

This live performance was streamed on Saturday, November 14th, 2020.

Artwork by David V D’Andrea.

Tracklist:
01. Old Evil
02. Diablerie
03. First To Die
04. Forest Clouds
05. Three Sisters
06. Grey Garden
07. Orchard
08. Cassock

Windhand have quickly risen to the top of the heavy rock music scene, with their genre-defying take on doom and psychedelia. Perhaps the perfect soundtrack to these dystopian times.

Says the band: “It was great to get together with the band after so many months apart, to plug in all the gear and let the demons loose once again. For a moment there it almost felt like being back on the road. We got to work with our old friends like Jonathan Kassalow (lighting and organ), and frequent music video collaborator Jordan Vance. They pulled it all together and made the show a heavy visual experience to pair with the audio which was recorded and mixed by our live sound engineer, Chris Moore. We look forward to seeing you on the road sometime soon at a real show, but this is as close as we’ll get for now. Hope y’all enjoy.”

Windhand is one of the key artists in the resurgence of heavy music, and in a scene teeming with great bands inspired by Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Sleep and Electric Wizard, Windhand stands apart due to their mastery of the craft and the stunning vocals of singer Dorthia Cottrell.

Photo by Joey Wharton

Windhand’s latest studio album »Eternal Return« is a complete life-to-death journey. As unplanned things go, it’s an observation of as well as a reflection on life’s ups and downs, joys and sorrows, beginnings and ends. Between the band’s 2015, highly acclaimed »Grief’s Infernal Flower«, and 2018’s »Eternal Return«, Windhand welcomed new life, survived lineup changes, and mourned unexpected death. The songs and song ordering are the direct result of those experiences. Where »Halcyon« is assured in its opening, the closing track »Feather« is its funeral march.

Windhand wrote »Eternal Return« all throughout the winter. Out of the sessions, »Halcyon«, »Grey Garden«, »Red Cloud«, and the monstrous »Eyeshine« emerged as the heaviest tracks, while »Pilgrim’s Rest«, »Diablerie«, and »Feather« embodied the more reflective side of Windhand. The juxtaposition of heavy, psychedelic and pensive is less like Black Sabbath or Sleep and more like Soundgarden or Veruca Salt. But the name-drops aren’t absolute so much as signals of Windhand’s ability to stretch beyond genre confines.

»Eternal Return« represents a new era for the group, a chrysalis moment that takes them to new and unforeseen heights. Boosted by Garrett Morris’ consistently cool riffs-forged at the crossroads of Iommi’s otherworldly import and Kurt Cobain’s spontaneous precocity-powered by Ryan Wolfe and Parker Chandler’s groove-laden rhythms, and propelled by Dorthia Cottrell’s smoky yet wistful vocals, Windhand’s new album is a two-step jump for Richmond’s finest purveyors of the psycho-actively heavy. Adorned by Arik Roper’s (Sleep, High On Fire) impressive cover art, »Eternal Return« not only looks the part of Windhand’s artistic growth but sounds the part.

Windhand brought Jack Endino back into the fold. Together, they spent two weeks recording at Soundhouse Recording in Seattle. Described as “smooth” and “intense”, the sessions with the famed producer were just what Windhand wanted. Endino also understood the group’s artistic progression, chiefly the admiration of and blending in late ’80s/early ’90s grunge. Out of it all, Windhand continued to refactor and refine their vision of heavy. A new era of psychedelic heaviness is upon us with Windhand’s genre-blurring »Eternal Return«. Sweet, fuzzed-out oblivion has never been closer.

Windhand is:
Dorthia Cottrell – Vocals
Parker Chandler – Bass
Ryan Wolfe – Drums
Garrett Morris – Guitar

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