April 19 is the release date for Elevators to the Grateful Sky‘s new album, Nude. It’ll be out through Greece’s Sound Effect Records after the band were caught up in the whole WTF-ness that took hold with HeviSike, their former aligned purveyor. That someone would pick them up isn’t a particular surprise — 2016’s Cape Yawn (review here), was good times all the way around — but that it’s a label with the psychedelic taste of Sound Effect should tell you something.

Mostly, when it comes right down to it, it should probably tell you to listen to the two new tracks the band have streaming in lyric videos embedded below. If it doesn’t tell you that, I will. So yeah, go ahead and give those a once-over. And it’s two of 11 total inclusions, so expect the band to have another trick or five up their collective sleeve.

Album info follows, courtesy of the label:

Elevators to the Grateful Sky – Nude

Elevators to the Grateful Sky are back with their third firey full-length album. ‘Nude’ showcases an extremely focused sound where early 90’s Seattle-Sub Pop vibes melt with seducingly psychedelic sections, heavy riffage and dreamy, sun-burnt instrumentals. Mastered at famed Mammoth Sound Mastering studio by Dan Randall (Iron Reagan, Noothgrush, The Walking Dead OST and countless others) and decorated by carefully hand-drawn imagery by vocalist Sandro Di Girolamo, the album comes in both coloured and black vinyl versions for the first time ever on Sound Effect Records. ‘Nude’ out on April 19th 2019.

Formed in sunny Palermo, Sicily in 2011, the band has since released one self-financed demo EP and two full-length albums, Cloud Eye (2013) and Cape Yawn (2016) on Transubstans Records (SWE) and Hevi Sike Records (UK) respectively. Their new, 11-songs album showcases a mature band whose varied songwriting has blossomed into distinctive compositions influenced by 90’s grunge, stoner and alternative rock acts such as SOUNDGARDEN, ALICE IN CHAINS, MASTERS OF REALITY, QOTSA, GODMACHINE and even DEAD MEADOW and EARTH. ETTGS’s hard-hitting edge has remained intact as they cross the entire spectre between psych jamming, acoustically soothing and straight heavy music.

“Nude” has been recorded and mixed by Silvio “Spadino” Punzo between Southern and Northern Italy in different sessions along 2018, and mastered by Dan Randall at Mammoth Sound Mastering (Maine, USA).

Preorder here: https://www.soundeffect-records.gr/nude

Elevators to the Grateful Sky is:
Sandro di Girolamo – vocals and percussion
Giorgio Trombino – guitars, bass, alto saxophone, congas, keyboards, alternate lead vocals
Giuseppe Ferrara – rhythm guitars
Giulio Scavuzzo – drums, darbouka, tambourine, percussion and alternate lead vocals

https://www.facebook.com/ElevatorstotheGratefulSky/
http://elevatorstothegratefulsky.bandcamp.com/
http://www.soundeffect-records.gr
https://www.facebook.com/SoundEffectRecords/

Elevators to the Grateful Sky, “Song for July” lyric video

Elevators to the Grateful Sky, “Insects in Amber” lyric video

To be fair, I don’t think bands making albums available as downloads existed in 2008 like it does now. Who can remember? Sure you could sell some mp3s with Paypal on your MySpace page and email individual buyers links, or kow tow to the gods of iTunes or Amazon, but yeah, it’s probably overdue that UK riff bashers Rise to Thunder should make their ’08 long-player, Slagnoramus, and its curiously Rastafarian-color-schemed artwork available as a download for the first time through a newly-minted Bandcamp page. Better late than never.

Cheers to Lee Edwards from The Sleeping Shaman for putting me onto these cats, as their super-heavy three-song salvo has been punching me in the gut all afternoon. Here’s the news swiped from that venerable outlet and hosted here, mostly as an excuse for posting the Slagnoramus tracks, which — if the point hasn’t gotten across yet — are heavy heavy. That’s twice-over heavy.

Rise to Thunder have a new one due out this year on Future Noise Recordings, so there’s no time like the present to get caught up:

RISE TO THUNDER: 2008’s ‘Slagnoramus’ Now Available As A Digital Download

Stoke-on-Trent’s warriors of psychedelic doom RISE TO THUNDER have been quiet of late, but rest assured the 3 piece are scurried away writing & recording their, as yet untitled, new album which will be released via Future Noise Recordings in 2013.

As a stop gap, until this haze fuelled recording is released, the band have now set up a Bandcamp page and made their 2008 opus ‘Slagnoramus’, which was originally released via Negatropolis Records, available as a Digital Download for the measly sum of £2, now stream it below and download from their Bandcamp page HERE.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/rise-to-thunder/286621689715
http://risetothunder.bandcamp.com
http://www.future-noise.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Future-Noise-Recordings/141470275887035