Ever the troublemakers, British stoner specialists Groan have announced a few lives dates around the release of their new album, The Divine Right of Kings. The four-piece will unleash the new album, featuring alternate-universe future classics like “How Black was Our Sabbath” and “Let’s Have a Pint at the Crooked Cock,” on Oct. 26 through Soulseller Records, and joining them for the shows will be none other than Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight.

Here are the dates, courtesy of the band:

Tue 23rd Oct Oxford, The Wheatsheaf (support TBC)
Wed 24th Oct Manchester, The Bay Horse (w/Arke)
Thu 25th Oct Sunderland, Venue TBC (w/Witch Charmer + Ashes of Iron)
Sat 27th Oct London, The Black Heart (w/Valve, Crumbling Ghost, Dead Existence)

And to give a first look at the chicanery on tap for The Divine Right of Kings, Groan put together the following album trailer, which I’m happy to host for your perusal. Dig it and then go back to the start and dig it again:

I’ll be honest, had I not been dicking around on The House of Capricorn‘s MySpace page after reviewing their album, I probably would have never found out about their New Zealand countrymen, Soulseller. They’re a straightforward, balls-out guitar/vocals, bass and drums trio, and though their sound isn’t necessarily anything revolutionary, what’s best about Soulseller is they swagger like I’ve heard few stoner rock bands do.

My pick of the tracks on their MySpace is “Bloody Richard” — its lyrical theme taken from Shakespeare‘s Richard III — but I think you can hear the snotty aspect of Soulseller even better on “Year of the Dog,” which is a little faster and a little more punk-grown-up. The vocals of guitarist Jared are rife with attitude no matter the context, but the lyrics to “Year of the Dog” do a great job of playing it up even further, whereas the slightly longer “Talking in Tongues,” while also quicker than “Bloody Richard,” is also more complex in terms of its songwriting. “Year of the Dog” is simple and mean.

Luckily (for anyone listening), Soulseller can pull off either. Jared‘s guitars are fuzz-drenched, the bass of Damo is thick and low, and Hayden‘s drumming adapts quickly to any change of pace that comes up, such as the turn at the conclusion of “Talking in Tongues” that’s pure Sabbath and pulled off with startling confidence for a band with only one self-titled EP and a couple compilation appearances under their collective belt. But then, that seems to be Soulseller‘s thing: rocking and knowing it. If the MySpace songs are anything to go by, it’s definitely going to be worth keeping them on the radar to see what they do next.