HEROD SPEAK WITH FORK TONGUE

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Herod have arisen from the ever- prosperous Swiss music scene. Throughout their young 4 years of presence, they have already shared the stage with such acts as Gojira, Crowbar, The Ocean, Carcass, Obituary, Napalm Death and Voivod – Attesting their repute as the bus boy’s of King Herod, serving up whole sides of rare riffs, disposition, beauty and authority.

Initially the brain child of guitarist Pierre Carroz, 2014 saw Herod’s debut release “They were None” via Mighty Music and a subsequent European tour. Following the departure of original vocalist David, former THE OCEAN (Precambrian) vocalist Mike Pilat was recruited for follow up album “Sombre Dessein”.

Pilat also plays guitar and Herod are now furnished with a supplementary layer of musicality to complement both heaviness and soundscape aspects of their palette. CARCASS guitar player Bill Steer makes a guest appearance on “Fork Tongue”, the new track which the band have shared today.

The band comment, “When Michael Pilat (Vocal/gtr) and Pierre Carroz (founder/gtr) worked on the lyrics, they came up with a concept made out of ideas and punch lines Pierre had been collecting for a few months. At that time Pierre was reading the works of a French philosopher (Michel Onfray) who introduced him to the idea of the inescapable end of our civilisation as a Greek tragedy. We all have studied the history of ancient civilizations that have collapsed at some point but it is like we cannot face the idea that we might reach the end of our civilisation that started about 2000 years ago. After brainstorming, they decided to build the lyrics with the concept of the rise & fall of a dictator, which is also a tip of the cap to King Herod.
 
Design-wise, Pierre had the idea of the « Shipbreakers” when he saw the documentary “Freightened” (https://www.freightened.com) that talks about the cargo freight which ships 90% of what we consume in social,
economic and environmentally disastrous conditions.
 
The artwork and the video clip are made up from footage of “Shipbreakers”, people who dismantle huge container ships which end up mooring to die on Indian or Bangladeshi shores. HEROD create a strong musical and visual image of the abysses of the human consumption project, which turns out to be hell on earth for these people whose every day work involves constantly risking their lives to feed
their families. And we’re all concerned.
 
The idea behind the lyrics is the acceptance of the situation, the confrontation of our denial and the quest of a certain « tragic wisdom » in order to find the light where it is.
 
While opening 35 shows for Carcass in 2015, we were delighted to see Sir William Steer playing every night. He’s such a inspiring and thrilling guitar player as well as an humble gentleman. During the recoding process we ask him to record a solo on « Fork Tongue » and we couldn’t believe he accepted.”

Recorded and mixed by Swiss audiophile Julien Fehlman, mastered by Magnus Lindberg from Cult of Luna, “Sombre Dessein” is an album of staggering riffs, intricate yet groovy polyrhythmic patterns and sheer heaviness. The bi-lingual vocal approach adds an unusual but intriguing aspect to the band’s delivery of their craft.

“Sombre Dessein” is released on 15th February via Pelagic Records.
Pre-order here: http://bit.ly/herodEU
 
Herod will also be touring Europe in March + April with The Ocean:
 
13/03 – DE, Stuttgart – Im Wizemann
14/03 – CH, Geneva – PTR/ L’Usine
15/03 – FR, Lyon – CCO
16/03 – FR, Toulouse – Rex
17/03 – FR, Marseilles – Les Pennes Mirabeau
18/03 – FR, Colmar – Le Grillen
19/03 – FR, Bethune – Le Poche
20/03 – UK, Birmingham – Mama Roux
21/03 – IR, Limerick – Dolan’s Warehouse
22/03 – IR, Dublin – Voodoo Lounge
23/03 – UK, Glasgow – Audio
24/03 – UK, Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
25/03 – BE, Antwerp – Trix
26/03 – NL, Den Haag – Paard
27/03 – DE, Cologne – Club Volta
28/03 – DE, Leipzig – Werk 2
29/03 – PL, Poznan – U Bazyla
30/03 – DE, Bremen – Tower
31/03 – DE, Hamburg – Logo
02/04 – SE, Stockholm – Fryhuset, Klubben
03/04 – SE, Gothenburg – Tradgarn
06/04 – NO, Stavangar – Folken
07/04 – NO, Hamar – Gregers
08/04 – DK, Copenhagen – Vega
Watch the previous video for ‘Reckoning’ –  https://youtu.be/ZxIsz3NYfLk
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