This fucking band rocks, man. I don’t know how else to put it or really what more you could ask from Gozu at this point that they haven’t delivered. Dudes have locked in their lineup and realized the potential of their sound in a hard-hitting, soulful, ace-songwriting execution that’s only grown more intense with time. They’re a decade removed from their first, self-titled offering (someday, in some Boston record shop, I’ll find that CD), and this year’s Equilibrium (review here) is both their nastiest boogie yet and their highest-profile release yet, issued through Metal Blade subsidiary Blacklight Media after stints on essential US underground imprints Ripple Music and Small Stone Records. Gozu have done nothing but kill it, constantly. And really, since Gaff and Doug nailed down the lineup with Joe Grotto on bass and Mike Hubbard on drums, they’ve been the best Boston has to offer in heavy rock and roll. If there’s a tour coming through and they’re not the local support, it’s mostly because they’re busy that night doing something else.

They’ve already been back and forth to Europe in the last couple years and I’m hearing murmurs in that direction again for 2019, but this week the four-piece hook up with the Metal Alliance Tour — and if you’ve never tried High River Sauces, the presenter of the run, you should probably get on that; I’ve jazzed up many a roasted chicken thereby — for a stint that takes them to the end of the month and through the Midwest and into Canada. They’ll be on the road with Black Tusk, Goatwhore, The Casualties and Great American Ghost, so it’s a little bit of something for everybody, and it’s easy enough to expect packed houses along the way. The more aggressive edge of the material on Equilibrium and 2016’s Revival (review here) will suit them well on the tour, and to mark the occasion, they’ve got a new video for “They Probably Know Karate,” which, if you’re familiar with the band, you already know has nothing to do with karate or whatever delightful obscurity the title is referencing. Instead, it’s a somewhat apocalyptic imagery the lyrics evoke — “In the end a pale horse will ride,” etc. — and I’m not really sure what’s going on with the plague beaks and Ouija-board conjuration in the video, but hey folks, it’s heavy metal, so you know. Plague beaks and Ouija boards. It’s part of the culture of thing.

If they’re hitting somewhere you’re going to be, go see Gozu and tell them I said hi. It’s been a while since I last caught them and I miss these cats.

Dig:

Gozu, “They Probably Know Karate” official video

Boston’s rock/metal outfit Gozu will join the Metal Alliance tour, featuring Goatwhore, The Casualties, Black Tusk, and Great American Ghost. In anticipation of these upcoming shows, the band has now launched a new video for “They Probably Know Karate” (directed by Tony Simone at Zenbeast Media).

Gozu comments: “We are super excited about our new video! Tony is a super talented up and coming video director and knocked this out the park! This is also a great jump off point to the Metal Alliance Tour coming up next week!! Goatwhore, The Casualties, Black Tusk, Great American Ghost…What’s not to like?? We get to tour with bands we’re actually fans of!”

See below for all dates!

Metal Alliance Tour w/ Gozu
Featuring Goatwhore, The Casualties, Black Tusk, Great American Ghost
Nov. 18 – Aftershock – Merriam, KS
Nov. 20 – Turf Club – St. Paul, MN
Nov. 21 – Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL
Nov. 23 – Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
Nov. 24 – Overtime Sports Bar – Kingston, ON
Nov. 25 – Salle Multi Du Complex Meduse – Quebec City, QC
Nov. 26 – Les Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC
Nov. 28 – Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Nov. 29 – Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
Nov. 30 – One Centre Square – Easton, PA

Gozu line-up:
Marc Gaffney – guitar and vocals
Joe Grotto – bass
Mike Hubbard – drums
Doug Sherman – lead guitar and sounds

Gozu on Thee Facebooks

Gozu on Bandcamp

Gozu on Instagram

Gozu on Twitter

Blacklight Media website

Blacklight Media on Thee Facebooks

Metal Blade Records website

Tags: Blacklight Media, Boston, Equilibrium, Gozu, Gozu Equilibrium, Massachusetts, Metal Blade Records

This entry was posted on Monday, November 12th, 2018 at 8:15 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.