WIZARD RIFLE will be touring in support of their Here In The Deadlights full-length, issued via Seventh Rule Recordings late last month. Tracked by guitarist Max Dameron at Breakfast Studio in Los Angeles, then toiled over for a year, with Billy Anderson (Sleep, Eyehategod, Melvins et al) and Jesse Johnstone sharing mixing duties, the album finds WIZARD RIFLE delving into far sludgier realms and reaching new echelons of monolithic heaviness in the process without sacrificing any of their propulsive grooves and cathartic dissonance.
The record has raised the eyebrows and grazed the ears of fans and media nationally. In their December 2014 issue, Decibel Magazine elaborates, "...with [David] Boe's bass anchoring the compositions, providing a welcome low end that adds obvious heaviness, the music flows much better than it did on the previous album. A song like 'Paul The Sky Tyrant' swings with mighty force and grace, while the more progressive, Beefheartian moments ('Psychodynamo') and skronky passages ('Buzzsaw Babes') are able to show a little more restraint this time around now that the bass can deflect some of the attention. It's a marvelous step forward - a promising band expanding literally and figuratively, and sounding all the better for it."
In a near perfect 4.5/5 score About.com calls Here In The Deadlights, "a mind-boggling possibility for discovery for those willing to do the digging," furthering that, "Here in the Deadlights provides the inspiration to willfully expand your musical consciousness." Verbicide gushes, "sophomore slump be damned, WIZARD RIFLE has made a follow-up that trumps their excellent debut," while The Needle Drops opines, "Often compared to King Crimson or Misfits, Here In The Deadlights sounds more like an early Uriah Heep album, sludgy, but playing heavily with volume and movement. Track after track seems to be an epic little escapade in its own right, building up into a crescendo of churning guitar lines and drum riffs, moving inch by careful inch towards the refined heavy rock sound they constantly seem to be searching for."
WIZARD RIFLE Fall Tour 2014:
11/14/2014 Time Out Lounge - Phoenix, AZ
11/15/2014 Gary's Place - Tucson, AZ
11/16/2014 Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM
11/18/2014 Silver Dollar - Texarkana, TX
11/19/2014 Hi Tone - Memphis, TN
11/20/2014 Pilot Light - Knoxville, TN
11/21/2014 The Jinx - Savannah, GA
11/22/2014 Slim's - Raleigh, NC
11/23/2014 Strange Matter - Richmond, VA
11/25/2014 Kung Fu Necktie - Philadelphia, PA
11/26/2014 Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn, NY
With a sound entrenched in a reverence for '70s psychedelic and punk, and innumerable contemporary acts without ever feeling like a proverbial retrogression, WIZARD RIFLE seeks to transcend boundaries beyond reference points and obvious nods to rock idols. Still, they're commonly likened to King Crimson, Lightning Bolt, High On Fire, Misfits, Karp, Melvins, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Sleep and so many others. In 2012 the band released their debut LP Speak Loud Say Nothing to critical adoration on Seventh Rule. Teaming up with Nanotear Booking, they honed their live sound on several US and Canadian tours, sharing the stage with the likes of Yob, Church Of Misery, Black Cobra, Arabrot, Rabbits and Witch Mountain. Last year, the band relocated from Portland to Los Angeles, and immediately started work on the delightfully riff-encased bruiser that is Here In The Deadlights.
Here In The Deadlights is available on CD and limited red-inside-deep purple colored vinyl via Seventh Rule Recordings. Order your copy NOW at THIS LOCATION. For digital orders point your browser HERE.
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