Out now on 20 Buck Spin is the mammoth Tempest, the debut full-length from funeral doom unit LYCUS. With accolades to the band’s brilliant songwriting and musicianship in response to Tempest, the band will now begin taking the album to the public directly, as the first phase of stateside touring in support of the album begins next week.
The first show of LYCUS‘ ten-city Tempest US Tour Part I is set for this Wednesday, July 17th, in Los Angeles. From there they invade Los Angeles, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Portland before closing out the tour with a record release show in their hometown of Oakland, along the way sharing the stage with Lake of Blood, Helen Money, Godhunter, Megaton Leviathan, Ephemeros and more. West Coast residing legions should view the tour itinerary below and check this band out, and East Coast fans should prepare for a Fall tour, now in the planning stages.
Tempest is available for digital purpose/streaming at the 20 Buck Spin Bandcamp, or on CD direct from the label. The LP version will be available at the end of July, including a clear edition which will be available through the label’s mailorder only.
LYCUS Tempest US Tour Part I:
7/17/2013 Five Star Bar – Los Angeles, CA w/ Lake of Blood, Helen Money, Trapped Within Burning Machinery
7/18/2013 The Trunk Space – Phoenix, AZ w/ Sorxe, Funerary, Godhunter
7/20/2013 9 Pine Boxes Fest – Santa Fe, NM w/ Desmadre, Carrion Kind, Drought, Magguts, Flying Donkey Punch, Scalafrea
7/21/2013 The Lost Lake Lounge – Denver, CO
7/22/2013 Burt’s Tiki Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT w/ Cicada
7/24/2013 Mercury – Seattle, WA w/ Shadow Of The Torturer, A God Or An Other
7/25/2013 Megaton House – Portland, OR w/ Megaton Leviathan, Usnea, Ephemeros
7/26/2013 The Witch Haus – Santa Cruz, CA w/ Folivore, Leucosis
7/27/2013 TBA – Oakland, CA *record release show w/ Whirr, Cardinal Wyrm, Minenwerfer, Barn Burning
LYCUS seemingly adds new vitality to the funeral doom genre with Tempest, the album’s three tracks consuming nearly forty-two minutes of your soul with each listen. Recorded and mixed at hometown Earhammer Studios with Greg Wilkinson (Brainoil, Pallbearer, Samothrace, High On Fire), the album is literally drowning in an ocean-sized pool of incredibly descriptive accolades from media outlets. While references to Mournful Congregation, Ahab, Thergothon and Noothgrush are inevitable, LYCUS deliver both caustic and clean riffs and interject multiple vocal styles and additional instrumentation which elevate the material on Tempest to their own place among the scene’s veterans and forerunners.
“Lycus see the hope in doom… a symphony of cell-decaying hymns and chanted vocals that crumple under the gravity field of a vast, blackened, panicked interlude. 9/10” – Decibel
“It’s difficult to make a subgenre like funeral doom feel fresh and vital, but Lycus are trying their damnedest to do just that… with Tempest they’ve harnessed the elemental power of an oncoming storm.” – Pitchfork
“It’s that moment of cathartic victory right before everyone dies at the end of a Senecan tragedy – awful, but somehow satisfying. And Lycus achieves that here.” – Stereogum
“…a debut LP that’s rich and full of effortless wonder and the dignified restraint to be found on the record belies the band’s youth at every turn.” – Cvlt Nation
“This is one awfully, beautifully dark record. Wholly and unrelentingly painful, Lycus walk into grief with thick skin and mud-caked fists. Sit with the feeling, they’ll tell you. It’s the only way out.” – Heavy Planet
“…an album so full of loss, so full of depressive grief, that if you closed your eyes and stared into the darkness long enough you may lose yourself and never make it back…” – Metal Insider
“The balance between heaviness and melody is pitch-perfect throughout, moves seamlessly from one to the other and makes for a textured album… 10/10” – Destructive Music
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