22 September 2023 - 0 Comments

Today, New Zealand's heavy metal stalwarts Beastwars, release the fourth track from their forthcoming release Tyranny of Distance, Emmanuelle, initially released by Peter Gutteridge's Snapper in 1990.

Listen to Beastwars Emmanuelle (Originally performed by Snapper) HERE

James Woods, Beastwars bass player, deeply appreciated Peter Gutteridge's music and songwriting, particularly his use of drones and repetition. Point That Thing Somewhere Else (The Clean) was the first Flying Nun song he heard, leaving a strong impression on him. "Snapper live was just glorious; watching Peter barely touching the strings on his guitar and getting the most amazing tones out of it showed me that you could gently coax a hurricane and then surf it to your heart's content" says Woods.

The inclusion of Emmanuelle on the album was almost derailed because the vocals on the original song were buried under a lot of effects, and it proved challenging to find the lyrics. Sadly, Peter Gutteridge passed away in 2015, making it even more difficult. The band tried reaching out to former Snapper members and others associated with the band, but they weren't successful. It was only when Matt, Beastwars singer, ran into Roger Shepherd from Flying Nun on Cuba Street, Wellington and was told that Jan Hellriegel was helping with the band's back catalogue that they got a solid lead. Jan contacted Peter's sister, who was able to find the original lyrics typed on a piece of paper and sent a photo of them. This discovery was an amazing moment as they had almost given up on including the song on the album.

Earlier this year, as part of the Tyranny Of Distance project, Beastwars unleashed a powerful rendition of Identity' a track originally performed by the legendary 80's post-punk band, The Gordons.

In an enlightening conversation, James Woods, the bass player of Beastwars, sat down with the iconic John Halvorsen, a founding member of The Gordons, to discuss his thoughts on Beastwars' rendition of Identity. Their conversation delves deep into the creative process, musical evolution, and the unique connection between the two bands.

Check out the chat between James Woods and John Halvorsen as they explore the world of Identity and its transformation in the hands of Beastwars.

Tyranny of Distance is a collection of songs sharing the common themes of despair, loneliness and existential frustration, plus a song recounting the story of an illicit drug-fueled party, albeit with a twist. Tyranny of Distance is also a covers album spanning 40 years of New Zealand music. The Gordons, Superette, Snapper, Marlon Williams, Children's Hour, Nadia Reid, Julia Deans and The 3Ds all have their songs contorted and distorted, riffs extracted and mutated. These are powerful songs in their own right, but Tyranny of Distance gives them fiery new life to become something distinctly "Beastwars".

Pre-order Tyranny of Distance HERE

The seed of Tyranny of Distance was first planted a few years back when Beastwars singer Matthew Hyde said that he loved the song Dark Child by Marlon Williams and wanted to cover it. The band didn't pursue this idea until 2022, when they were asked to contribute a song to a Soundgarden tribute album for an American label. Beastwars was on hiatus then and hadn’t been in the same room or played music together for over a year. Individually each band member was going through tough times, and the idea of finding the energy to create new original music together was unfathomable.

But the band quickly realised that playing music together was healing, cathartic and most important of all - fun. So the idea of covering Marlon Williams was resurrected and embellished, kicking off the formidable process of shortlisting songs, tracking down artists for their blessing, learning the inspiration behind the songs and, in one case, a hard-fought quest to uncover long-lost lyrics that were indecipherable on the original recording.

Panhead Custom Ales - known for their love of rock music, custom car culture, and long-standing history of supporting Beastwars - were pitched a simple idea "would you pay for the band to record some hot-rodded New Zealand songs?" The answer is Tyranny of Distance.

The recording process took place over nine months. It was overseen by Beastwars drummer Nathan Hickey and longtime collaborator James Goldsmith, who co-produced the previous two Beastwars albums with the final heftiness added by mastering engineer Will Borza (Deftones, ZZ Top).

Christian Pearce, who also plays in Beastwars side projects End Boss and Putrid Future, will join the band on guitar duties while original member Clayton Anderson takes a break from live performances.

Obey the Riff, Long Live the Beast.

Beastwars are taking Tyranny of Distance on the road this October/November with seven dates across Aotearoa.

Supported by the 5-piece Polynesian Metal Band from South Auckland, Shepherds Reign in Whanganui and New Plymouth. In Hamilton, progressive metal band Tusk will join Beastwars. Pōneke sci-fi psych-rock duo Ripship is on the Auckland and Wellington bills and Dunedin-based "Doom Pop" Night Lunch in Lyttelton and Dunedin.

BEASTWARS Tyranny of Distance Album Release Tour:

Friday 13th October: The Musicians Club, Whanganui
Saturday 14th October: Zeal/The Mayfair, New Plymouth
Thursday 26th October: Last Place, Hamilton
Friday 27th October: Galatos, Auckland
Saturday 28th October: San Fran, Wellington
Friday 3rd November: The Loons, Lyttleton
Saturday 4th November: Dive, Dunedin

Tickets on sale now from www.beastwarsband.com

Photo Credit: David James

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