It’s a mini-tour in that it’s four dates, but it also covers the bulk of the geography of the West Coast, so you know, not really all that ‘mini.’ Seattle’s He Whose Ox is Gored are heading out as they continue to support their 2015 debut full-length, The Camel, the Lion, the Child (review here), and over the course of four nights, they’ll trek from Portland to San Francisco to Los Angeles to Sacramento. It’s that Portland to SF part that’s the real trouble, but the ride back northbound from L.A. to Sacramento is hardly an afternoon jaunt either.

Of course, the band aren’t exactly novices at this point when it comes to putting in time on the road, so it’s not like they’re not gonna make it, but one would hardly accuse them of taking it easy on themselves. Or, I suppose, on Dust Moth, with whom they’ll be touring.

The PR wire has it all like this:

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED: Ethereal Sludge Collective Confirms February Headlining Mini-Tour With Dust Moth; Video Teaser Posted

Ethereal progressive sludge collective HE WHOSE OX IS GORED will kick off the New Year with a West Coast headlining tour. The four-date mini excursion will commence on February 16th and make its way through Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. Support will be provided by shoe gazing experimentalists Dust Moth featuring Ryan Frederiksen of These Arms Are Snakes.

“We are covering songs off all four releases, and may have a few surprises in the set as well,” issues the band of the upcoming dates. “We can’t wait to hit the road with our dear friends in Dust Moth. They are some of the hardest working, best people we know, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the stage with them for four nights.”

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED w/ Dust Moth:
2/16/2017 Ash Street Saloon – Portland, OR
2/17/2017 Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA
2/18/2017 The Echo – Los Angeles, CA
2/19/2017 The Colony – Sacramento, CA

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED continues to tour in support of their critically-lauded The Camel, The Lion, The Child issued in 2015 via Bleeding Light Records. A monolithic, eight-track, near hour-long exercise in sonic alchemy, with The Camel, The Lion, The Child the Seattle unit travels far beyond the confines of traditional musical boundaries with a sound that’s at once cinematic, ethereal, and sprawling yet unequivocally heavy. Captured at Red Room and Ex Ex Audio in Seattle by Robert Cheek (Serial Hawk, Noise-A-Tron etc.) with additional recording at Avast Studios with Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Wolves In The Throne Room etc.), mixed by Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon etc.) and mastered by frequent collaborator, Blake Bickel, The Camel, The Lion, The Child is a truly cathartic audio expedition not to be ignored.

http://www.hewhoseoxisgored.com
https://hewhoseoxisgored.bandcamp.com/album/the-camel-the-lion-the-child
http://www.facebook.com/hewhoseoxisgoredseattle
http://www.instagram.com/hewhoseoxisgored/
http://twitter.com/OxisGored

He Whose Ox is Gored & Dust Moth tour announcement

By the time they got around to putting it out last Fall, it was kind of hard to believe that The Camel, the Lion, the Child (review here) was He Whose Ox is Gored‘s debut full-length. The Seattle-based outfit had spent years busting out singles and EPs and splits with damn near the entire Pacific Northwest — “dude, did you hear the Ox/Whole City of Seattle split?” — and I guess their sound was just so established by then from those releases and the touring they’d done that it made more sense to think of the record as one by an experienced band than a group of newcomers. Sounded that way, anyhow.

They’ll hit the road once again at the end of the month alongside Retox and Silent on a coast-to-coast stint mostly centered around major markets. The PR wire brings the update:

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED: Atmospheric Progressive Sludge Collective Announces Tour With Retox And Silent

Atmospheric progressive sludge collective HE WHOSE OX IS GORED will bring their audio conjurings to the stage later this month for a run of live rituals with Retox, Silent and Netherlands (on select dates). The band’s latest trek well commence August 30th in Tuscan, Arizona and run through September 16th in Portland, Oregon.

Comments the band of their upcoming journey, “We are excited to announce that we’ll not only be expanding dates to the south, east coast and midwest, but that we’ll be supporting the awesome Retox and Silent. Last time we caught Retox in Seattle, they packed the house and brought the shred with precision and snarl. Can’t wait!”

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED w/ Retox, Silent:
8/29/2016 The Soda Bar – San Diego, CA **
8/30/2016 Club Congress – Tucson, AZ
8/31/2016 Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
9/1/2016 Three Links – Dallas, TX
9/2/2016 Dirty Dog – Austin, TX
9/4/2016 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
9/5/2016 Shakas – Virginia Beach, VA
9/6/2016 Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY w/ Netherlands
9/7/2016 Smiling Moose – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Netherlands
9/8/2016 Voltage Lounge – Philadelphia, PA w/ Netherlands
9/9/2016 DC9 – Washington, DC
9/10/2016 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
9/11/2016 Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL
9/12/2016 Fubar – St. Louis, MO
9/13/2016 Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
9/14/2016 Hi Dive – Denver, CO
9/16/2016 High Water Mark – Portland, OR **
**HE WHOSE OX IS GORED only

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED will be touring in support of their critically-lauded The Camel, The Lion, The Child released late last year via Bleeding Light Records. A monolithic, eight-track, near hour-long exercise in sonic alchemy, with The Camel, The Lion, The Child the Seattle collective travel far beyond the confines of traditional musical boundaries with a sound that’s at once cinematic, ethereal and sprawling yet unequivocally heavy. The Camel, The Lion, The Child was captured at Red Room and Ex Ex Audio in Seattle by Robert Cheek (Serial Hawk, Noise-A-Tron etc.) with additional recording at Avast Studios with Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Wolves In The Throne Room etc.), mixed by Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon etc.) and mastered by frequent collaborator, Blake Bickel, The Camel, The Lion, The Child is a truly cathartic audio expedition not to be ignored.

http://www.hewhoseoxisgored.com
http://www.facebook.com/hewhoseoxisgoredseattle
http://www.facebook.com/bleedinglightrecords

He Whose Ox is Gored, The Camel, the Lion, the Child (2015)

Seattle progressive heavy rockers He Whose Ox is Gored release their debut full-length, The Camel, the Lion, the Child, on Oct. 9 through Bleeding Light Records (LP/DL) and Breathe Plastic Records (tape). The album follows a couple of shorter releases — EPs like 2014’s Nightshade and Rumors (review here) — that have helped spread the word and develop the four-piece’s particular brand of weighted and atmospheric plundering, but the substantial feel throughout the eight-track/51-minute LP defies the “debut album” stereotype for how assured the band sounds and for how solidified their aesthetic seems to be. Tracked by Robert Cheek with additional recording by Randall Dunn and mixed by Matt Bayles, it is as satisfying in its textured feel as in its level of impact, songs like “Omega” slamming hard into the consciousness even as they seem to be expanding their own context through fluid rhythmic turns, overarching washes of synth and vocal arrangements.

Ultimately held together by the foundation provided by bassist Mike Sparks and drummer John O’Connell, The Camel, the Lion, the Child fades in gradually with an immediate eerie synth line and tapped guitar, the former provided by Lisa Mungo and the latter by Brian McClelland, both of whom also contribute vocals. It’s a tense start to the record and that’s clearly on purpose, the band thinking more about the album front-to-back than any single track’s impression. A series of one-word titles leads to the finale “Weighted by Guilt, Crushed by a Diamond,” with “Oathbreaker” doling out near-frenetic rhythmic turns sans mathy-pretense, McClelland‘s few lines shouted deep in the mix but still blown out, before the aforementioned “Omega” takes hold, introduces waves of synth and the ambience they’ll come to add throughout. That song builds to an apex satisfying melodically and in its heft, but the subsequent “Crusade” pushes further, starting melodic before unfolding The Camel, the Lion, the Child‘s most progressive interplay of vocals between Mungo and McClelland — is there such a thing as post-post-hardcore? — and setting a theme of multiple-element cohesion that continues through the following “Zelatype” to round out side A in a manner both emotionally resonant and otherworldly.

Having so thoroughly engulfed the listener with its first half, He Whose Ox is Gored set about further developing the progression across side B, with “Alpha” starting on a slow fade to mirror “Oathbreaker” but keeping a more post-rock vibe to complement its guitar noodles, which will be a recurring theme throughout the following “Magazina” and “Cairo,” both of which feel more patient than their counterparts, “Magazina” in particular calling to mind a more lush vision of earlier Kylesa, still set to land heavy with O’Connell‘s pervasive thud, but in less of a rush, Mungo shouting at the fore backed by McClelland, winding riffs leading the way to a finish and the quiet start of “Cairo,” which develops in layers of guitar and keys across its first two minutes before righteous, angular plod takes hold with synth on top to push The Camel, the Lion, the Child to its crescendo — all the more stunning in headphones for the deeply buried vocals and the gorgeous mix-placement of the keys in the mix — the closer “Weighted by Guilt, Crushed into a Diamond” offering a suitable apex of its own but accomplishing even more in its atmosphere and slow-rolling immersion.

He Whose Ox is Gored have put in some obviously-valuable road time over the last couple years, so maybe it’s not such a shocker that The Camel, the Lion, the Child would be so assured of its goals and so up to the ambitious task it sets for itself, but taken across its span, it still feels surprising just how far beyond expectation the band go in their songwriting and in their big-picture conceptual construction. That is to say, I expected the record to be good, and it’s a better album than I expected.

All the more, then, I’m very happy to be hosting the premiere of “Crusade” from the album, which again, is out Oct. 9. Find it below, followed by more info and linkery, and enjoy:

Titled The Camel, The Lion, The Child, the eight-track, near hour-long sound exhibition was tracked at Red Room and Ex Ex Audio in Seattle by Robert Cheek (Serial Hawk, Noise-A-Tron etc.) with additional recording taking place at Avast Studios with Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, etc). Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon etc.) handled mixing duties and frequent collaborator, Blake Bickel, mastered the album at Dynamic Sound Service.

Both sonically and conceptually engrossing, with The Camel, The Lion, The Child HE WHOSE OX IS GORED — Brian McClelland (guitar, vocals), Lisa Mungo (synths, keyboards, vocals), Mike Sparks (bass) and John O’Connell (drums) – transcend musical boundaries with their meticulous yet organically-executed amalgam of technical guitar compositions and atmospheric synth over a pummeling rhythm section manifesting a uniquely cinematic soundscape that paints a world ready to thrash and burn.

Elaborates McClelland of the band’s latest output: “The Camel, The Lion, The Child is a cup that runs over. From the writing process and through the studio, we made it a point to make the record that we wanted. The songs grow and breathe with their own lives and personalities, and unfold with layers that surprise us to this day. The excellent engineering and mixing of Robert Cheek and Matt Bayles raised the bar, and pushed us to make the best record we could. Now, we share it with you.”

He Whose Ox is Gored on Thee Facebooks

He Whose Ox is Gored on Bandcamp

Bleeding Light Records

Breathe Plastic Records

Seattle trio Serial Hawk release their debut full-length, Searching for Light, on Sept. 18 via Bleeding Light Records. The four-track, 38-minute LP splits neatly into two sides, but that’s pretty much where the “easy” ends, unless you count the apparent simplicity with which the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Will Bassin, bassist Adam Holbrook and drummer Sean Bulkley enact a groove on top of nodding riffage. The bulk of Searching for Light is very, very heavy, and I’m not going to take that away from it, but even more than the weight of its impact or the edge of bombast in rolling opener “Desolate” that reminds ever so slightly of defunct chaosbringers Akimbo, Searching for Light is immersive. More than that. It’s a record that opens wide and takes you in as it sets out on this course, sometimes fluid, sometimes jagged, loud, quiet, shouting, mourning, on and on across this river of contrasts that are made to work smoothly with each other.

Side A brings three tracks in “Desolate” (9:06), the shorter “Lying in Wait” (3:55) and “Of Decay” (7:05), and side B is comprised entirely of the 18-minute title cut. Throughout, the band benefits greatly from the natural recording style of engineer/mixer Robert Cheek (Chelsea Wolfe, Tera Melos) at Red Room Studios and ExEx Audio, but it’s more about the changes in the songs themselves, which work on top of a foundation of newer-school heavy riffs without losing a sense of atmosphere only bolstered by the strange, eerie realness of Samantha Muljat and Sara Winkle‘s cover art. In being sandwiched by “Desolate” and “Of Decay,” “Lying in Wait” could have easily come across as an afterthought or an interlude, but it’s a major factor in the ambience of the record overall, and some of the slower, crashing movements around the halfway point in “Of Decay” seem to be mirroring similar ideas, layers of guitar teasing melody through the pummel and expanding the breadth even further as Serial Hawk make their way toward a how-did-we-get-here final movement of plodding lumber.

All of this, of course, pushes the band toward the inevitable focus point that is “Searching for Light” itself. The title-track, closer and longest singular piece is as ambitious as it is sprawling, but still maintains its landing force, pushing through a minimal, quiet opening into a patient stretch that sets up the build to the album’s final payoff, every bit worthy of the investment of time and the punches to the gut Serial Hawk deliver along the way. It’s the kind of debut that makes it easy to forget it’s a debut, but I have my doubts that the band are finished working in long-form songwriting. If they wanted to, there’s nothing evident here that makes me think they couldn’t get up to a single-song album. They’re halfway there, and while they’ve worked hard to get to this point across a prior demo, EP, live record and single, as well as several cross-country tours, they’re still really just at another starting line with Searching for Light. One hopes they continue searching.

I’m thrilled today to be able to host the premiere for “Of Decay,” which as standard procedure dictates you’ll find on the Soundcloud embed below. Beneath that, you can dig into the dates for Serial Hawk‘s upcoming release tour, which starts Oct. 1 and will once again take them from coast to coast. Have riffs, will travel.

Enjoy:

Seattle, Washington’s hypnotically heavy three-piece sludge/doom act SERIAL HAWK will release their long-awaited debut, Searching For Light, via Bleeding Light Records September 18th. The band’s penchant for punishing, building riffs and reputation for bringing live audiences to their knees with a wall of sound has been encapsulated in this long-awaited album, which will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital download.

Serial Hawk on tour:
10/01 – Boise, ID – The Shredder
10/02 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Underground 3
10/03 – Laramie, WY – Baby Hospice
10/04 – Colorado Springs, CO – Flux Capacitor
10/05 – Omaha, NE – O’leavers
10/06 – Minneapolis, MN – The Hexagon
10/07 – Chicago, IL – Burlington Bar
10/08 – Dayton, OH – Blind Bobs
10/09 – Syracuse, NY – Gorham Brothers Music
10/10 – New Haven, CT – Crunch House
10/11 – Brooklyn, NY – The Acheron
10/12 – Philadelphia, PA – TBD
10/13 – Washington, D.C. – The Pinch
10/14 – Atlanta, GA – The Basement
10/15 – Birmingham, AL – The Firehouse
10/16 – Houston, TX – Rudyard’s
10/17 – Austin, TX – Sat – The Lost Well
10/18 – TBD
10/19 – Santa Fe, NM – The Cave
10/20 – Phoenix, AZ – Yucca Tap Room
10/21 – San Diego, CA – Tower Bar
10/22 – Oakland, CA – Golden Bull
10/23 – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial

Serial Hawk on Thee Facebooks

Serial Hawk on Twitter

Serial Hawk on Bandcamp

Serial Hawk via Instagrammophone

Bleeding Light Records’ BigCartel store

Bleeding Light Records on Bandcamp

Hell yeah, new He Whose Ox is Gored. Sign me up. The Seattle four-piece will issue The Camel, the Lion, the Child — because sometimes you have a thing for cumbersome titles and you run with it — on Oct. 9 through Bleeding Light Records. Their prior 7″, Rumors (review here), was one of my favorite short releases of 2014, so yeah, their debut long-player after a slew of other EPs and singles and whatnots sounds like an easy pick to be worth checking out.

To herald its arrival, they’ll tour with Mutoid Man on the West Coast, as the PR wire informs:

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED: Eclectic Doomgaze Ensemble To Unleash The Camel, The Lion, The Child This Fall Via Bleeding Light Records; Tour With Mutoid Man To Commence Next Month

Seattle’s HE WHOSE OX IS GORED has been raising the brows of the underground masses with their eclectic, oft trance-inducing fusion of doom, prog rock, post hardcore and psychedelic shoegaze since their inception in 2009. Following the release of their critically-adored, Bleeding Light Records-issued Rumors 7″ last year, the band will undrape their highly-anticipated full-length debut this Fall.

Titled The Camel, The Lion, The Child, the eight-track, near hour-long sound exhibition was tracked at Red Room and Ex Ex Audio in Seattle by Robert Cheek (Serial Hawk, Noise-A-Tron etc.) with additional recording taking place at Avast Studios with Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, etc). Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon etc.) handled mixing duties and frequent collaborator, Blake Bickel, mastered the album at Dynamic Sound Service.

Both sonically and conceptually engrossing, with The Camel, The Lion, The Child HE WHOSE OX IS GORED — Brian McClelland (guitar, vocals), Lisa Mungo (synths, keyboards, vocals), Mike Sparks (bass) and John O’Connell (drums) – transcend musical boundaries with their meticulous yet organically-executed amalgam of technical guitar compositions and atmospheric synth over a pummeling rhythm section manifesting a uniquely cinematic soundscape that paints a world ready to thrash and burn.

Elaborates McClelland of the band’s latest output: “The Camel, The Lion, The Child is a cup that runs over. From the writing process and through the studio, we made it a point to make the record that we wanted. The songs grow and breathe with their own lives and personalities, and unfold with layers that surprise us to this day. The excellent engineering and mixing of Robert Cheek and Matt Bayles raised the bar, and pushed us to make the best record we could. Now, we share it with you.”

The Camel, The Lion, The Child Track Listing:
1. Oathbreaker
2. Omega
3. Crusade
4. Zelatype
5. Alpha
6. Magazina
7. Cairo
8. Weighted By Guilt, Crushed Into A Diamond

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED will wage their sonic alchemy upon unsuspecting ears next month on a short bout of live dates sharing the stage with rock and roll juggernaut, Mutoid Man. Set to commence on August 22nd, the band will traverse seven cities (five with Mutoid Man) with additional live excursions in their plotting stages.

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED:
8/22/2015 Barboza – Seattle, WA w/ Mutoid Man
8/23/2015 Venue Nightclub – Vancouver, BC w/ Mutoid Man
8/24/2015 Hawthorne Theater Lounge – Portland, OR w/ Mutoid Man
8/25/2015 Starlite Lounge – Sacramento, CA
8/26/2015 Bottom Of The Hill – San Francisco, CA w/ Mutoid Man
8/27/2015 The Echo – Los Angeles, CA w/ Mutoid Man
8/29/2015 The Boreal – Eugene, OR

Tuned low and turned up, HE WHOSE OX IS GORED released their debut EP, Op Amps, in 2009 on their own Void Assault label. Featuring heavy guitars and atmospheric synth-centric soundscapes, the band managed to bend genres into a formidable crossover composite. In 2010, the obscure unit unleashed their Tad Doyle (TAD, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth)-produced follow-up, Op Amps II: Into The Ethers. Through multiple tours and personnel shifts, the band continued to refine their sound and entered Seattle’s Red Room Studios with Chris Common. The resulting Nightshade EP was three tracks of crushing doomgaze, built on texture and aggression.

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED’s The Camel, The Lion, The Child will be released digitally and on limited edition vinyl (500 double gatefold LP ) via Bleeding Light Records on October 9th, 2015 with Breathe Plastic Records (Netherlands) releasing a limited edition tape version of the production. Teaser tracks and preorders to be announced in the coming weeks.

http://www.facebook.com/hewhoseoxisgoredseattle
http://www.facebook.com/bleedinglightrecords
http://www.bleedinglightrecords.bigcartel.com

He Whose Ox is Gored, Rumors 7″ (2014)

Seattle trio Serial Hawk have signed to Bleeding Light Records and will issue their debut full-length, Searching for Light, Sept. 18 on LP, CD and download. The album was engineered and mixed by Robert Cheek (Chelsea Wolfe, Tera Melos) at Red Room Studios and ExEx Audio and mastered by Blake Bickel at Dynamic Sound Service, and was completed shortly before the three-piece embarked on a full US tour last fall.

How better, then, to herald the upcoming release than with another cross-country trek? Starting May 22 in Eugene, OR, Serial Hawk — guitarist/vocalist Will Bassin, bassist Adam Holbrook and drummer Sean Bulkley — will pound the streets from the West Coast out for a quick swing through the Northeast before making their way quickly back through the Midwest, hitting Nebraska and Wyoming before swinging back through Idaho en route to a tour-ending hometown show at Black Lodge on June 14.

The album contains four cuts, one of which — “Lying in Wait” — was released as a precursor 7″ last fall, and comes after Serial Hawk‘s 2011 demo and 2012 EP Buried in the Gray. Offered up with immediate bombast and riffy largesse, its grooves crash heavy and unfold in patient turns of pace and development. Oh yeah, and it crushes. Lots of crushing.

Cover art for Searching for Light is a collaboration between Samantha Muljat (who also did Today is the Day and Earth‘s 2014 outings) and Sara Winkle. You’ll find it below, followed by the tracklisting for the album — I don’t want to give away too much, but that title-track is a glorious 18 minutes long — as well as Serial Hawk‘s tour dates and a quick teaser video of which it’s my pleasure to host the premiere.

Dig it:

Serial Hawk, Searching for Light Track Listing:
1. Desolate
2. Lying In Wait
3. Of Decay
4. Searching For Light

Serial Hawk Spring 2015 Tour
May 22 – Eugene, OR – The Wandering Goat
May 23 – Sacramento, CA – Starlite Lounge
May 24 – Redwood City, CA – Bobby D’s
May 25 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Sweet Springs Saloon
May 26 – Glendale, CA – The Complex
May 27 – San Diego, CA – The Hideout
May 28 – Phoenix, AZ – Rogue Bar
May 29 – Santa Fe, NM – The Cave
May 30 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Observatory
May 31 – Bryant, AR – M. F. Metal Music
June 01 – Birmingham, AL – Syndicate Loung
June 02 – Atlanta, GA – 529
June 03 – Raleigh, NC – Slims Downtown
June 04 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
June 05 – Boston, MA – Cambridge Elks
June 06 – New Haven, CT – Three Sheets
June 07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Smiling Moose
June 08 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge
June 09 – Omaha, NE – The Hideout
June 10 – Laramie, WY – Buckhorn Bar
June 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Music Garage
June 12 – Boise, ID – The Crazy Horse
June 13 – Portland, OR – The Know
June 14 – Seattle, WA – Black Lodge

https://www.facebook.com/serialhawk
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http://serialhawk.bandcamp.com/
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http://bleedinglightrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://bleedinglightrecords.bandcamp.com/

Serial Hawk, Searching for Light album preview

There are three tracks included on He Whose Ox is Gored‘s forthcoming Rumors 7″ (out Oct. 28 on Bleeding Light Records), and of them, “Buried Twice” is the shortest at 2:45. I was given my choice of any of the three for streaming, and while normally my impulse in that kind of situation is to go with the longest cut possible — in this case that would be the B-side, “Rumors,” at 5:18 — for the Seattle four-piece, I think “Buried Twice” is a crisp summary of the intensity that’s so central to their sound and their ability to balance that with a still-focused songwriting that ignores neither structure nor atmosphere. In picking one of the three, “Buried Twice” couldn’t help but stand out for how well all that is crammed into less than three minutes and how memorable the song is for passing in what’s essentially a flash.

Comprised of Lisa Mungo on synths/vocals guitarist/vocalist Brian McClelland, bassist/vocalist Mike Sparks and drummer John O’Connell, the band released their Nightshade EP earlier this year — it was also compiled with 2010’s OP AMPS II: Into the Ether on a tape by Breathe Plastic Records — as the latest in a slew of short releases, and their drive toward efficiency is no less prevalent on Rumors. With Mungo out front on vocals, they run a line of melody through what in other contexts would be fuzzed-out noise rock, but the emphasis there should be on “run.” “Void Assault,” “Buried Twice” and “Rumors” keep a steady sense of movement through them, not only making the material exciting, but giving it a sense of unpredictability as well. “Buried Twice” might catch you off guard, but let it. That only makes the effect more satisfying.

Five-hundred copies of the vinyl will be pressed by Bleeding Light. The band have a bunch of West Coast dates lined up starting right after the release, and you’ll find them after the player below, along with some more info from the PR wire:

[mp3player width=480 height=200 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=he-whose-ox-is-gored-buried-twice.xml]

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED and Bleeding Light Records have joined forces to release the Seattle doom alchemists’ upcoming new 7″. Entitled Rumors, the three-song EP will see a digital release October 28, 2014, with a limited 500-strong vinyl pressing to follow. HWOIG have built a dedicated fanbase through DIY acumen and the irresistible pull of their heavy, fuzz-drenched, progressive-minded and thoroughly intriguing take on proggy rockin’ doom, all bolstered by Lisa Mungo’s powerful, windswept pipes.

The band will be hitting the road immediately after, tooling down the West Coast. They’ll arrive back home in Seattle at the Sunset Tavern on 11/16 to end it all in blaze of glory and prepare their imminent full-length for eventual release. There’s no rest for the wicked…

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED WEST COAST TOUR
10/30 Portland, OR @ Club 21 w/ Sioux & Towers
10/31 Sacramento, CA @ Starlite Lounge w/ Eyehategod, Today is the Day, Power Trip, Iron Reagan & Plague Widow
11/1 Oakland, CA @ Golden Bull w/ Dimesland, Cormorant & Barren Altar
11/2 LA, CA @ Complex w/ QunQ, Facial & Half Goon
11/3 Las Vegas, NV @ The Dive w/ Uzala & Demon Lung
11/4 Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room w/ Uzala, Cardinal Wyrm & Sorxe
11/5 Tucson, AZ @ Flycatcher
11/6 San Diego, CA @ Merrow w/ Deep Sea Thunder Beast
11/7 Lancaster, CA @ Lancaster Moose Lodge w/ Child Brides, Sona, Litaoa & Cactus 1994
11/8 San Francisco, CA @ El Rio w/ Worship
11/9 Reno, NV @ Holland Project w/ Sisters Doom
11/16 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern

He Whose Ox is Gored on Thee Facebooks

He Whose Ox is Gored on Bandcamp

Bleeding Light Records

Following a deluxe-style 10″ release through Caffe Vita Records, Seattle bombast rockers He Whose Ox is Gored have issued their 2014 Nightshade two-song EP on tape via Breathe Plastic Records. There are, as they put it, 20 copies available in the US out of a total 100 pressed, so if you want one, it’s probably a good idea to place the order soon.

With however many they’ve got left by the time Aug. 5 rolls around, He Whose Ox is Gored will hit the road to support both the vinyl and the tape, playing with an assortment of badasses along the way, including Black Mare, who also had a tape out on Breathe Plastic last year.

The PR wire offers background and dates:

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED: Northwestern Doomgazers Plot West Coast Tour

Tuned down and turnt up, He Whose Ox is Gored has been blasting through the underground of Seattle since 2009. Combining technical guitar work and atmospheric synth over a pummeling rhythm section and doomed aggression, they create a uniquely cinematic soundscape that paints a world ready to thrash and burn. Bleeding Light Records will release the band’s upcoming Rumours EP digitally and on 7″ vinyl in a few months’ time. With an upcoming full-length brewing and a busy tour schedule this year, the OX’s dynamic doom is poised to take over. The Seattle quartet is comprised of Brian McClelland on guitar & vocals, Lisa Mungo on synths & vocals, Mike Sparks on bass & vocals, and drummer John O’Connell.

He Whose Ox is Gored is preparing to embark upon a series of West Coast live actions that will begin on August 5th in Portland and wrap up in Spokane. They’ll be sharing stages with the formidable likes of Chasma, Black Mare, Glaciers, and more, and will unveil new material from their myriad upcoming releases.

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED WEST COAST TOUR
8/5 Portland, OR @ East End w/ Muscle & Marrow and Chasma
8/6 San Francisco, CA @ SUBMission w/ Glaciers and Roland
8/7 Oakland, CA @ Eli’s w/ Hellbeard, Glaciers, and Druid
8/8 Los Angeles, CA @ Complex w/ Lightsystem, Glaare, and Black Mare
8/9 San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar w/ Deep Sea Thunder Beast and Bhorelord
8/10 Tuscon, AZ @ The District w/ Ocean Void
8/12 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar w/ Bath House and Icelous
8/13 Denver, CO @ Bar Bar w/ Abrams
8/14 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Shred Shed w/ Stoic
8/15 Boise, ID @ The Shredder w/ Obstructed by the Sun and Swamp Shrine
8/16 Missoula, MT @ TBA
8/17 Spokane, WA @ Mootsie’s w/ Losing Skin and Rot Monger

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He Whose Ox is Gored, Nightshade EP (2014)