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audiObelisk: Spirits of the Dead Premiere “Song of Many Reefs” from Rumours of a Presence

Posted in audiObelisk on May 23rd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

In 2011, Oslo acid folk rockers Spirits of the Dead marked their arrival with the release of their sophomore outing, The Great God Pan. The follow-up to a 2010 full-length, The Great God Pan (review here) was striking in aesthetic as much in performance, the four-piece showcasing a rare ability throughout to blend classic ideology and modern sonics to both the benefit of the material and any and all ears who might hear it and be tired of the retro cultism and post-Coven candlelit Satanic silliness that so often accompanies.

Happy to say, the forthcoming third release from Spirits of the Dead, Rumours of a Presence follows suit and sees the returning lineup of frontman Ragnar Vikse, guitarist Ole Øvstedal, bassist Kristian Hultgren and drummer Geir Thorstensen keeping to a sense of warm tonality without losing sight of either clarity of sound or purpose. In anything, Rumours of a Presence is even more rock-based than was The Great God Pan. Some of the pagan mentality remains — see the “Dance of the Dead” interlude or the earlier “Golden Sun” — but Spirits of the Dead part ways with some of their folkish roots in favor of classic rock swagger and thematic linearity, the album dealing with mortality and the sea lyrically while tracks like “Wheels of the World” nod at Rush and “Song of Many Reefs” mounts an 8-track ready psychedelic apex.

It’s the latter song that I have the pleasure to premiere today from Rumours of a Presence, which is out June 25 on The End Records in North America. “Song of Many Reefs” offers not only one of Spirits of the Dead‘s most memorable grooves, but also an excellent example of their crisp modern approach, which when combined with Øvstedal‘s classic lead work and the stomp of Hultgren and Thorstensen makes for a potent brew not to be taken lightly.

You can check out the track on the player below, followed by some words from Ragnar Vikse about the song’s origins:

Ragnar Vikse on “Song of Many Reefs”

“Song of Many Reefs” is one of our favorite tracks on the album. We had a clear vision about the first part of the song before we went into the studio, while we left the rest more open and loose to unfold as we were there. Lyrics were also made while we were in the studio. It is a song open for interpretation for everyone, but I would say it’s more or less about a traveler with a highly “driven” desire to travel.

Spirits of the Dead on Thee Facebooks

Album Preorder at The End Records

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Spirits of the Dead New Album Due in June

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 1st, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Norwegian acid folk rockers Spirits of the Dead return on June 25 with their third album, Rumours of a Presence. Their last album, The Great God Pan (review here), came out in 2011 and successfully touched on pagan sensibilities without sounding either redundant thematically or silly in its forest worship — which as any number of artists who’ve crossed that line probably won’t be able to tell you — isn’t easy. Those in perpetual search for “something different” would do well to take note of the following, which came down the PR wire yesterday:

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD SET TO RELEASE ‘RUMOURS OF A PRESENCE’ JUNE 25, 2013 ON THE END RECORDS

ANNOUNCE EUROPEAN TOUR WITH KADAVAR

PRE-ORDER ‘RUMOURS OF A PRESENCE’ EXCLUSIVE BUNDLE PACKAGES

When “Norway’s finest psychedelic-stoner-folk-band” Spirits of the Dead, released their eponymous debut album in 2008, few could have been more surprised than the band of the album’s overwhelming reviews.

Crowned with a place in Classic Rock Magazine’s “The Best Albums of the Year”, their second album ‘The Great God Pan’ somehow evoked a both retrospective and futuristic quality and made it clear that something was in the making. The band claimed they were “mixing the Sound of the Past with the Sound of the Future”. Well…

Now it’s 2013, and Spirits of the Dead are about to raise the stakes. “Rumours of a Presence” digs deeper and goes to even more profound places than the band has ever been before. Recorded in remote districts of Norway, this grand record lingers on the big questions: Life, Death and the Sea. Well, to be honest…Death and the Sea, really.

Dom Lawson gives us an insight to the record in his liner notes, which can be read here.

Having just announced a European tour with Kadavar, the band looks forward to crossing the ocean to embark on a US tour later in the year.

TOUR DATES WITH KADAVAR
05.10.2013 – DK Copenhagen – Beta
05.11.2013 – DE Hamburg – Klubsen
05.12.2013 – DE Dusseldorf – Stahlwerk
05.13.2013 – DE Nurnberg – Zentralcafe
05.14.2013 – DE Munchen – Backstage
05.15.2013 – DE Frankfurt – Das Bett
05.16.2013 – DE Koln – Underground
05.17.2013 – BE Brussels – Magasin 4
05.18.2013 – NL Rotterdam – Rotown
05.19.2012 – NL Nijmegen – Doornroosje

‘RUMOURS OF A PRESENCE’ TRACKLISTING
01. Wheels Of The World
02. Song Of Many Reefs
03. Golden Sun
04. Dance Of The Dead
05. Rumours Of New Presence
06. Red Death
07. Seaweed
08. Oceanus

Spirits of the Dead, “Fields of Gold”

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