Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
It has been six long years since music fanatics were blessed with a full-length studio album release from Texas’ BLOOD OF THE SUN.
Those fans may now rejoice as the band – which features Saint Vitus drummer Henry Vasquez in their ranks – delivers news about a new release. ‘Blood’s Thicker Than Love‘ is set to arrive on CD, LP, and Digital formats via Listenable Records on November 2nd.
Riff Relevant is beyond excited to unveil the album artwork, tracklist, and pre-order options, along with a new song from the album, “Keep The Lemmy’s Coming“. Things don’t end there though as BLOOD OF THE SUN also announces a short European tour, which includes appearances at Desertfest Belgium and Into The Void festival, prior to the album’s arrival. More on that can be found below.
Tracklist:
01. Keep The Lemmy’s Comin’
02. My Time
03. Livin’ For The Night
04. Air Rises As You Drown
05. Stained Glass Window
06. Blood Of The Road
It is disheartening to consider that some fans of underground music may not be aware of BLOOD OF THE SUN‘s historical significance, so here’s some background on the band: B.O.T.S. was founded by Vasquez and keyboard player Dave Gryder. The pair have regularly joined forces with a number of players, including Derek St. Holmes from the Ted Nugent band and Whitford/St. Holmes fame. They have also released four previous albums since 2004.
Those albums – Blood Of The Sun (2004), In Blood We Rock (2007), Death Ride (2008), and Burning On The Wings Of Desire (2012) – are fantastic opuses that fiercely channel clear inspiration from such bands as Deep Purple, Mountain, Humble Pie, and Led Zeppelin.
Now, BLOOD OF THE SUN returns with new “blood” in the band as new recruits, guitarists Wyatt Burton and Alex Johnson, join the band’s core, Vasquez, Gryder, and bassist Roger “Kip” Yma. The line up is completed by vocalist Sean Vargas, who joined the band shortly after their previous album, Burning On The Wings Of Desire, was released.
Vasquez shared the following about these turn of events, saying:
“We got in the jam room and everything just clicked… it was pretty smooth sailing after that, minus the Texas heat.“We began tracking the album early July. We recorded at The Lair in Arlington, Texas with our guitar player Alex Johnson handling the engineering. We took a straightforward approach. We just got in and laid down our tracks and tried to make a killer hard rock record our way. Alex did an excellent job, not to mention the usual superb mixing and mastering by Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Stone Axe).“
Now, we are able to enjoy a song from the new recording, the aforementioned “Keep The Lemmy’s Coming“. Henry continues:
“The debut track from Blood‘s Thicker Than Love, “Keep The Lemmy’s Comin’,” is a particular stand out. ”’Keep The Lemmy’s Comin” was written right after [Motörhead’s] Lemmy [Kilmister] passed. The lyrics just came right away. Everyone was talking about how Jack and Cokes were going to be called Lemmy’s and we thought that a was killer way to pay tribute to him. He’s an absolute legend and a huge influence, especially on our guitar players Wyatt and Alex. Once they joined, they put their own spin on what was there and we came out with what we think is a great homage to the man, myth, and legend of Lemmy. The song is about living in the moment and going all out. There are times when its necessary to go off the deep end and this song is the soundtrack for a time like that. It’s also a killer driving song!“
BLOOD OF THE SUN’s ‘Blood’s Thicker Than Water‘ will arrive from Listenable Records on November 2nd, while pre-order is available now at this LINK.
BLOOD OF THE SUN will embark upon a European Tour next month, here is the itinerary:
Oct. 10 – GER – Bonn, Harmonie, WDR Rockpalast Crossroads TV Show *
Oct. 11 – GER – Dortmund, Junkyard *
Oct. 12 – BE – Antwerp, Trix, Desertfest Belgium
Oct. 13 – UK – London, The Dome *
Oct. 14 – GER – Münster, Rare Guitar
Oct. 15 – GER – tbc
Oct. 16 – GER – Berlin, SO36 **
Oct. 17 – GER – Osnabrück, Bastard Club
Oct. 18 – GER – Munich, Backstage*
Oct. 19 – NL – Leeuwarden, Neushoorn, Into The Void Fest
*with LUCIFER
**with ELDER and ANCESTORS
