04 August 2023 - 0 Comments

Today, Wellington heavyweights Beastwars release the aural onslaught, Identity, the second track from their forthcoming album Tyranny of Distance. Identity was originally released in 1984 by The Gordons - famous for being the brutally loudest band in NZ at the time.

Identity follows last month's announcement of Beastwars long-awaited fifth studio album, Tyranny of Distance - out Friday, 13th October, on Destroy Records / Universal. And the release of the first album single Waves , initially performed by the 90's Flying Nun act Superette.

Of Identity, James Woods (Bass) says, “I always loved John Halvorsen's (The Gordons) guitar playing, and the mantra of repetition as heaviness in his songwriting.”

Nathan (Nato) Hickey (Drums) adds “We really leaned in to the influence that The Gordons had on early Shihad with our version. In particular, with my drumming, I took inspiration from Churn/Killjoy and we looked for moments of discordance in the original songs guitar tracks to elaborate and build riffs from”

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

Beastwars are taking Tyranny of Distance on the road this October/November with seven dates across Aotearoa. Today, The band announced supports for each city; The 5-Piece Polynesian Metal Band From South Auckland, Shepherds Reign, will be performing 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: 12 Bar, Christchurch
Saturday 4th November: Dive, Dunedin

Tickets on sale now from www.beastwarsband.com

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.

Photo Credit: David James

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