Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
South Africa’s premiere fuzz-heavy, psych doom trio, RUFF MAGIK, will soon return with an upcoming new studio album release, one titled ‘Seasons’.
For the record, or about the record, I am not sure if it is an album of all-new material or if it is a compilation of three recent EP releases on one effort. Those EPs being ‘Seasons 1 – Chapter 1: The Hare And The Hollow’, ‘Seasons 2 – Chapter 2: A Finch In A Cherry Tree’, and ‘Seasons 3 – Chapter 3: A Dragon And His Hoard’.
Either way, the trio of Johni Holiday (Guitar/Vocals), Jimmy Glass (Bass), and Ben Manchino (Drums), are sharing a song from the imminent release. It’s titled “Come All Ye Druids” and it is streaming via the Soundcloud embed below.
The first thing that I instantly notice about the song – mind you, I’ve been covering releases from Ruff Magik for nearly 4 years now – is its propensity towards a more groove-oriented structuring. It’s heavy too, not quite as bluesy and careening as the band’s earlier output. But then, Ruff Magik has always kept things interesting and rockin’ no matter how the delivery itself was served.
It would seem that all indications are implying that 2018 could be the year of a much deserved Ruff Magik “breakout”. Simply put, things are happening all over the place for the band, who will embark upon their first-ever European tour in June.
Their touring jaunts will see them sharing stages with such acts as The Devil And The Almighty Blues, Colour Haze, My Sleeping Karma, and Mars Red Sky.
Along the way upon these treks, the guys are scheduled to play a couple of prestigious festivals – Freak Valley 2018 in Germany and SonicBlast Moledo 2018 in Portugal. Here are all scheduled dates at this time:
Supporting The Devil And The Almighty Blues:
24 May, Stuttgart, Goldmarks
28 May, Munich, Feierwerk
29 May, Vienna, Arena
30 May, Leipzig, Werk 2
Supporting Colour Haze / My Sleeping Karma:
26 May, Wiesbaden, Schlachthoff
31 May, Freak Valley Festival, Netphen
02 June, Dresden, Beatpol (supporting Mars Red Sky)
