Article By: Leanne Ridgeway
Port Orchard, Washington’s MOS GENERATOR spent most of 2016 and 2017 on tour supporting their 2016 ‘Abyssinia‘ album. During a special night on the tail end of the tour, an entire set was recorded at Rebellion, in Manchester England on October 4th, 2017.
That recording of a blistering MOS GENERATOR set is now being released as a new live album. ‘Night Of The Lords‘ will be available today (Friday, May 3rd) from Devil’s Child Records. A few words from Rachel Williams, Overlord at Devil’s Child Records:
“Devil’s Child Records is elated to present the first record in our new ‘Bootleg Series’, Mos Generator, ‘Night of the Lords’. Bootleg records were created as a rebellious act of defiance all for the love of music. This series is all about our love of music, and pays a unique homage to the bootleg recordings from the 1970’s.
We are excited to be working with Mos Generator again for this release, with special thanks to Tony Reed in helping shape an idea into a reality for the Devil’s Child Bootleg Series.”
Mixed and mastered at his HeavyHead Recording Co. in January 2019, Tony Reed, guitarist and vocalist for MOS GENERATOR, tells the tale:
“Many months after the European leg of the Abyssinia Tour was over, I was cleaning out my guitar case and found a flash drive that I had forgotten about. Upon inspection, I realized it was a complete multi-tracked live performance, date and city unknown. After listening to some of the banter in between songs, I figured out that it was from Manchester, England. I distinctly remembered that show, because we played a Mahavishnu Orchestra/King Crimson medley that night and I think we only ever played it live three or four times.
That wasn’t the only interesting addition to the set list that night – “Easy Evil” was also a rarity in the set, along with the opener “Strangest Times.” “Shadowlands” (title track of the future 2018 album) was performed at the show as well, and we rarely played new songs before they were recorded and released. All in all, it was a blazing set that focused mainly on songs from ‘Abyssinia’, but also included a well-rounded collection of songs from our previous albums.
The album title is a play on “Day of the Lords”, a song by the band Joy Division from Manchester, England. The cover of this official “bootleg” release is a tribute to many of the unofficial records I have from the 70s on infamous labels like Trademark of Quality, The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label (TAKRL), and Wizardo. In the early days of bootleg vinyl, they just glued a photo copied piece of paper on a white jacket and called it good. The inspiration for this layout came from a David Bowie bootleg called “His Master’s Voice”, one of the first bootlegs I ever owned.
Most of the time when I (rarely) listen back to live recordings of the band, I find myself remembering our performance as being better in my head than it actually was. That is not the case with this show. The set list, energy, performance and the right amount of risk-taking make this a show we are excited is getting released.”
‘Night Of The Lords’ Tracklist:
Side One:
01. Strangest Times
02. Lonely One Kenobi
03. Shadowlands
04. Easy Evil
05. There’s No Return From Nowhere
06. Dance of Maya / Red
Side Two:
01. Breaker
02. On The Eve
03. Catspaw
04. Step Up/Jam
05. Electric Mountain Majesty
MOS GENERATOR‘s ‘Night Of The Lords‘ live album, the first release in the Devil’s Child Records ‘Bootleg Series‘, was created in true bootleg fashion. Pure rock music captured in a live recording, issued in a limited run of 100 copies on black vinyl. Each record is hand-numbered with either a yellow or blue photo cover on primarily a hand-assembled package. Ten test presses will also be available on the release date. Snag one now at Devil’s Child Records.
Have a listen to the first single, “Breaker,” streaming below, which is also currently offered as a free download on Bandcamp. We also have a full stream of the album way below at the bottom. Tony Reed gave some insight into the first single:
“I chose Breaker for the teaser track because it’s a ripping version. It came about mid-way through the set and we were really warmed up and in tune with the vibe of the room. In the set it came after a Mahavishnu Orchestra / King Crimson medley that, in the handful of times we’ve played it live, left the audience dumbfounded and slightly confused. We thought we would follow up that prog-rock exploration with our best heavy boogie number. We don’t always include Breaker in the set, but I’m glad we did on this night.”
MOS GENERATOR
Sean Booth – Bass
Tony Reed – Guitar, Vocals, Other Instruments
Jono Garrett – Drums
Facebook | Bandcamp | Webstore | Spotify
devilschildrecords.bigcartel.com
