Like the ace in the hole of US heavy rock that they are, Washington trio Mos Generator are currently wrapping up a round of West Coast tour dates with legends-o’-fuzz Fu Manchu. Just last month, they announced their new album, Shadowlands, was in progress toward a 2018 release, and now Stickman Records has unveiled a reissue of 2012’s Nomads (review here), which if you think about it is where all this craziness got started in the first place.

When Mos Generator issued Nomads via a then-relatively-nascent Ripple Music, it was after several years of inactivity that found frontman Tony Reed directly exploring classic rock roots in Stone Axe. I don’t know who could’ve guessed at the time the furious rate of activity Nomads would kick off, but in addition to revamping the lineup and taking the show on the road as a complete touring act, Reed has overseen the release of two studio albums and more EPs, splits and singles than I can count, and turned Mos Generator into one of the West Coast’s most essential purveyors, all while also keeping up his studio work as producer/mixer/masterer of other people’s bands and sacrificing nothing of his own standard for top-crafted heavy rock and roll. To put it mildly, it’s been quite a half-decade.

I loved Nomads when it came out, and listening back to it via the Bandcamp player now for the first time in a while, turns out I still do. Stickman‘s LP reissue comes with a slew of digital bonus tracks. Info follows as culled from their store page:

Stickman Records – PSYCHOBABBLE 094 : Mos Generator – Nomads (re-release)

We’ve reissued Mos Generator’s classic album Nomads including a slew of bonus tracks for hardcore fans.

Mos Generator has been setting the standard in excellent rock music for the better part of the last twenty years, never letting trends or paradigm shifts get in the way. Tony Reed, guitarist and vocalist of the band, heads up the project as well as writing and producing the band‘s material. When the band released Nomads in 2012, their first record in 7 years, they had already established themselves as masters of their craft, not just able to write airtight songs but to do so with the same knack for originality as their famous progenitors.

The record‘s nine songs span a wide swath of classic rock territory, beginning with the heavy lumber of the space-themed “Cosmic Ark”, moving through mid-paced headbangers like the single “Lonely One Kenobi” and even giving a nod to the 80’s with a cover of Judas Priest’s “Solar Angels”. Reed has the natural conviction of a man with music in his DNA and the chops to back it up, but Nomads is a testament to the band’s pop sensibilities as much as their ability to rock. Once these riffs get in your head, they definitely won’t be leaving any time soon.

Stickman Records is re-releasing Nomads album on colored 180gr. vinyl including a download of the album, including 8 bonus tracks from the Nomads recording sessions. Long live rock n’ roll!

Tracklist:
Cosmic Ark
Lonely One Kenobi
Torches
Step Up
Solar Angels
For Your Blood
Can’t Get Where I Belong
Nomads
This is the Gift of Nature

Bonus material (included in digital download):
Step Up (7 Version)
Cosmic Ark (Demo)
Lonely One Kenobi (Demo)
Torches (Demo)
For Your Blood (Demo)
Can’t Get Where I Belong (Demo)
Lonely One Kenobi (Video Edit)

MOS GENERATOR supporting Fu Manchu*
11/17 Tacoma, WA the Valley
11/18 Bremerton, WA the Manette Saloon

Mos Generator is:
Tony Reed: Guitar and Mellotron
Jono Garrett: Drums
Sean Booth: Bass

https://mosgenerator.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MosGenerator
http://heavyheadsuperstore.storenvy.com/
https://www.stickman-records.com/shop/mos-generator-nomads/
https://www.facebook.com/Stickman-Records-1522369868033940/

Mos Generator, Nomads (2012)

Losing Warning is a bummer, but Northwest Terror Fest 2017 is taking it in stride and taking its game to another level entirely by adding Coven to the bill for their first US show in 27 years. I had the good fortune of watching Coven play at Roadburn in April (review here), and their classic sound has never been more relevant than it is today, and Jinx Dawson remains a mystifying presence as frontwoman, even nearly five decades after the band issued their landmark 1969 outing, Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls, which you can hear in full below. The point of that massive fucking run-on sentence? Go see Coven if you can. There. I made it simple. I hear that’s what you’re supposed to do on the internet.

John Haughm of Pillorian and Agalloch will also play an acoustic set as part of the packed lineup, and as a side note, tomorrow I’ll have a Six Dumb Questions interview posted with David Rodgers of Godhunter, who organizes this fest as well as other Terror Fest incarnations like the Austin Terror Fest at SXSW and Southwest Terror Fest in Arizona. Dude breaks his ass in making these things happen, and you’ll note Godhunter aren’t on this bill, so it’s clearly not about just putting together an event to promote his own doings. Just something to keep an eye out for.

Northwest Terror Fest 2017 runs June 15-17. Here’s the latest from the PR wire, including the full schedule:

COVEN, JOHN HAUGHM JOIN NORTHWEST TERROR FEST

NORTHWEST TERROR FEST – SEATTLE JUNE 15-17

Due to matters out of control of Northwest Terror Fest, we regret to inform that Warning will no longer be able to perform during this specific weekend. But at the end of the darkness is light as we are proud to announce that the legendary Coven will be playing on the evening of Saturday June 17th in what will be their first stateside show in 27 years!

While its widely disputed that some have cited Coven as the first band to brandish the sign of the horns, their occult laced tunes have laid down an irrefutable influence on the world of metal and doom beginning with their mystic debut album, 1969’s Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls.

John Haughm of Agalloch will be performing an intimate set.

Inspired by Cormac McCarthy, Ennio Morricone, Neil Young’s “Dead Man” soundtrack, and the renegade years of the American old west, John Haughm’s solo performance is a haunting and sonic 30 minute journey through dystopian wastelands of the past. It is a bleak, atmospheric, and powerful droning Western soundscape in steadfast spirit of the years 1865 – 1895.

Northwest Terror Fest Schedule:

THURSDAY 6/15
Neumo’s:
10:10 – END – Wolves In The Throne Room
8:50 – 9:30 – Samothrace
7:35 – 8:10 – King Woman
6:30 – 7:00 – Lycus
5:30 – 6:00 – Uada

Barboza:
9:30 – 10:10 – Graves At Sea
8:10 – 8:50 – Take Over And Destroy
7:00 – 7:35 – Void Omnia
6:00 – 6:30 – Barghest
5:00 – 5:30 – Witch Ripper

THURSDAY AFTER PARTY

Highline:
1:00 – END – John Haughm
11:50 – 12:40 – Aerial Ruin
11:00 – 11:30 – Crowhurst

FRIDAY 6/16

Neumo’s:
10:10 – END – Cephalic Carnage
8:50 – 9:30 – Goatwhore
7:35 – 8:10 – Noisear
6:30 – 7:00 – Nomads
5:30 – 6:00 – Fucked And Bound

Barboza:
9:30 – 10:10 Cult Leader
8:10 – 8:50 – Call Of The Void
7:00 – 7:35 – Transient
6:00 – 6:30 – Endorphin’s Lost
5:00 – 5:30 – Recluse

FRIDAY AFTER PARTY

Highline:
12:40 – END – Usnea
11:50 – 12:20 – Burials
11:00 – 11:30 – Sol

SATURDAY 6/17

Neumo’s:
10:10 – END – Coven (First US Show in 27 years)
8:50 – 9:30 – Yob
7:35 – 8:10 – Marissa Nadler
6:30 – 7:00 – Young And In The Way
5:30 – 6:00 – Infernal Coil

Barboza:
9:30 – 10:10 – Bell Witch featuring Aerial Ruin
8:10 – 8:50 – Forn
7:00 – 7:35 – CHRCH
6:00 – 6:30 – Hands Of Thieves
5:00 – 5:30 – Cliterati

SATURDAY AFTER PARTY

Highline:
12:40 – END – Heiress
11:50 – 12:20 – Rhine
11:00 – 11:30 – Old Iron

www.facebook.com/northwestterrorfest
https://www.facebook.com/events/1741333786182206/
www.neumos.com
www.thebarboza.com
www.highlineseattle.com

Coven, Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls (1969)

It’s as pure an example of heavy rock as I’ve heard in 2012. Washington trio Mos Generator, having been revitalized by guitarist/vocalist/friend of the site Tony Reed after a few years’ successful run in classic rockers Stone Axe, mark their return with Nomads, a collection of varied but straightforward songs that hearken to classic influences, but ultimately emerge as modern, full and engaging. Tonally weighted in Reed’s guitar and Scooter Haslip’s bass but never veering into stonerly fuzz, the nine songs of Nomads are pointed in their lack of pretense, unabashed in their hooks and balanced in both composition and production. The album, also produced by Reed, sees release via ongoing partnership with Ripple Music, which also deluxe-reissued Mos Generator’s self-titled debut earlier this year (review here) and has reissued Stone Axe material as well, and though Reed is a talented vocalist and guitarist and a skilled engineer – anyone who heard his production on, say, Saint Vitus’ Lillie: F-65 can immediately recognize his sound as comes through on Shawn Johnson’s drums – what’s most at the fore in listening to Nomads is the songwriting. Structurally traditional, cuts like “Can’t Get Where I Belong,” “Lonely One Kenobi” and even the more expansive closer “This is the Gift of Nature” wrap themselves around landmark choruses, classic rock hooks given vital presentation. Contrary to the reds and blacks of the cover art and its memento mori crow, the mood of most of the album is relatively light, and it opens upbeat with a strong trio of infectious cuts in “Cosmic Ark,” “Lonely One Kenobi” and “Torches,” keeping a crisp and clean sound throughout that results in an overarching accessibility for everything that follows, including the penultimate title-track, an acoustic interlude that sets up “This is the Gift of Nature” to round out the proceedings. A vinyl structure is evident with a split between the moodier fourth track “Step Up” and the ‘80s street metal riffing of “Solar Angels,” but the latter works as well as the centerpiece of the Nomads CD, a focal point and standout both in style and substance on Mos Generator’s fifth album (that’s counting 2006’s The Vault Sessions) and their first outing since 2008’s Destroy! The Mos Generator compilation.

As the singer, guitarist, producer and main songwriter, Reed is obviously a focal point on Nomads, and his approach to the revived Mos Generator is no different than it ever has been going back to the self-titled. He writes quality heavy rock songs with pop structures, shifts mood effectively and sets up an overall flow despite each track having a distinct personality of its own. “Cosmic Ark,” however, gets underway with an immediate bounce, and it’s Johnson’s drums and Haslip’s bass carrying across the potent groove as Reed relates lyrics about weedian travel through space and time that actually wind up being the most stoner rock facet of the song, and indeed, the album. It’s kind of a curious track in relation to what’s around it, but as the opener it works both because it’s fun and because of the quality of the hook, which gives way to a short bluesy lead and a subdued section of oohs and aahs that set up some of the variety to come later. At 3:31, it’s a classic radio number, and though “Lonely One Kenobi” was selected as the first single from Nomads (video premiere here) – one expects the referential title had something to do with that – “Cosmic Ark” could easily follow as the next. In the meantime, perhaps “Lonely One Kenobi” is a better representation of the album overall, more grounded lyrically and no less catchy than the opener. Reed seems to be referencing Dio-era Sabbath in the verse, bringing his voice up in the third line in a fashion similar to “Wishing Well” from the Heaven and Hell album, and that’s not the last ‘80s metal nod to come, but the song is undeniably Mos Generator’s own. One of the longer tracks at just over five minutes, its pulse is quick, Johnson working some swing into the drums and playing off the start-stop riff smoothly as Haslip deftly changes with the guitar between the verse groove and the chorus’ more forward-driving chorus, a path through it marked by Johnson’s snare and Reed’s “wan”-esque pronunciation of “one,” showing the basis for the name of the track. Reed takes a solo after the first chorus, and the verse reemerges to set up a second chorus, more hurriedly cadenced in the vocals, and another lead that serves as the outro, and when it’s over, I’m left wondering where that five minutes went because it happened so damned fast.

Read more »

Contrary to what you might presume from the photo above, Port Orchard, Washington, heavy rockers Mos Generator have seen the light. They decided to make a video about it.

The first thing you’ll probably notice in listening to “Lonely One Kenobi” from Mos Generator‘s new album, Nomads (review coming soon), is that it is crazily, unabashedly, apologetically catchy. The power trio of guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed, bassist Scooter Haslip and drummer Shawn Johnson have outdone themselves with the album, which is due out Oct. 23 on Ripple Music, and I can only assume that the yellow light in which the video finds them bathing as they perform the track is powered by the chorus.

Speaking of the chorus, the title of the song is also going to make a lot more sense once you hear it.

Please enjoy “Lonely One Kenobi” from Nomads, followed by some PR wire-type info from Ripple:

MOS GENERATOR Premiere “Lonely One Kenobi” Video

“Lonely One was the first song we wrote in the batch of new songs we recorded for Nomads. From the first time we played it live I could tell it was a strong number,” said Tony Reed when asked about the choice of lead singles, “And as for the video, yeah, I’m happy with the way Lonely One came out with what we had to work with. We’ve had a very positive response from people who have already seen the video.”

Nomads will be available world-wide on October 23^rd, 2012 through Ripple Music. The nine track album features the heaviness and elegant melody that have become the trademark sounds of the band, but this time lyrically exploring the more introspective paths of soul salvation. The Port Orchard, Washington rock n’ roll nomads spent almost a year tracking, recording, and mixing the new album until they were happy with the end result, constantly holding the material to the light, never wanting to release anything less than stellar.

Nomads will be available through Nail/Allegro Distribution in the U.S., Code 7 in the UK, and Clearspot International through continental Europe. Look for MOS GENERATOR on the road throughout the Pacific Northwest starting in September with possible more road work in 2013.

Track List:
1. Cosmic Ark
2. Lonely One Kenobi
3. Torches
4. Step Up
5. Solar Angels
6. For Your Blood
7. Can’t Get Where I Belong
8. Nomads/This Is The Gift Of Nature

Mos Generator on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music

As the kids would say, I am “all jazzed up” (the kids say that, right?) at the prospect of a new Mos Generator album. Nomads is due out Oct. 23 on Ripple Music, and the first batch out tour dates to support the record have been announced. Sure, they’re all on the other side of the country, but it’s still pretty cool.

Click the poster to enlarge and revel in the informative nature of what follows:

MOS GENERATOR Announce Live Dates in Support of Nomads, Support Slot with Saint Vitus

Hitting the road for select dates throughout the Pacific Northwest, MOS GENERATOR are proud to announce upcoming live dates starting this September, cuminating with an opening slot for St. Vitus as the legendary Doom merchants ply their trade across the U.S. For the Port Orchard trio, getting back on the live circuit to support their latest Ripple Music release, Nomads, is where they feel the music will take on a life of it’s own.

“Mos Generator has always embraced the live setting and where we feel our chemistry really comes together,” states guitarist/singer Tony Reed , “The songs take on a different form from night to night, one of us will throw out a new twist and the other two will pick up on it and take it where it feels best to go. It’s also very organic and a great outlet for us to fulfill musical needs we don’t get from the recording process.”

It’s been five years since the world has heard new material from MOS GENERATOR, and fortunately, that streak is about to end! Nomads will be available world-wide on October 23^rd, 2012 through Ripple Music. The nine track album features the heaviness and elegant melody that have become the trademark sounds of the band, but this time lyrically exploring the more introspective paths of soul salvation. The Port Orchard, Washington rock n’ roll nomads spent almost a year tracking, recording, and mixing the new album until they were happy with the end result, constantly holding the material to the light, never wanting to release anything less than stellar.

Nomads will be available through Nail/Allegro Distribution in the U.S., Code 7 in the UK, and Clearspot International through continental Europe. Look for MOS GENERATOR on the road throughout the Pacific Northwest starting in September with possible more road work in 2013.

Track List:
1. Cosmic Ark
2. Lonely One Kenobi
3. Torches
4. Step Up
5. Solar Angels
6. For Your Blood
7. Can’t Get Where I Belong
8. Nomads/This Is The Gift Of Nature

Join the MOS GENERATOR mailing list for special fan club opportunities in the near future!