Austrian four-piece Pastor will make their full-length debut one month from today — that’s Aug. 17, if you don’t feel like checking the calendar — with Evoke, pressed in an edition of 500 LPs by Who Can You Trust? Records with cover art by the esteemed Adam Burke. A quick-running 29 minutes, the album nonetheless finds plenty of time to nestle itself into a classically-minded groove, the Vienna outfit putting together seven tracks that toe the line betwixt ’70s boogie and what would later become doom, managing to bring to mind a retro spirit — you might say they evoke it — without delving as far as some into retro fetishism. In addition, a punkish snottiness in side B’s “Moving On” adds a sense of attitude to go with the prevalent swing in the rhythm section of bassist Georg drummer Alex, which is a major factor throughout and puts Pastor in line with the likes of Denmark’s Demon Head in an up and coming push of Pentagram-influenced heaviness.

Vocalist/guitarist Arik and guitarist Shardik take forward position as the riffs lead the charge on the opening chug of “Voodoo,” but immediately the bass and drums play a key role in setting the heavy course and opening into the more rushing verse, weighted, swinging and talking of demons and things from “the other side.” A roll familiar in some aspects ensues, but Pastor bring a sense of presence to the material as well, and that thread continues to develop as “Voodoo” feeds into “Drowning Thoughts,” the songs feeling open despite a defined structure thanks in no small part to that rhythmic surefootedness. The story was much the same with their 2014 single, Wayfaring Stranger/The Oath (review here), which Who Can You Trust? also released, but of course the vibe of a full-length is different. “Wolf Vein” nods at the chug of “Hand of Doom” before shifting into a dual-guitar shuffle, replete with wah, soaked in vibe, and “Wicked Whispers” closes out side A with a proto-metallic gallop that finds Arik going a little guttural in his delivery in order to further the doomed feel.

“Moving On” kicks the second, shorter half of Evoke into immediate groove, marked out by fluid leads, the prior-noted punker edge, and a particularly memorable course of starts and stops, while “Devil’s Reef” pushes through early shuffle toward a slowdown in its second half that provides the foundation for a bluesy last-minute solo, the lyrics earlier in the track urging the listener to “be forewarned” in a well placed dogwhistle reference for the also-converted. And with “Evoke” itself, everything gets tied together, but a darkened swing still moves, and Arik pushes his vocals past the breaking point in delivering the title-line over winding Iommic riffery. Traditional in its overall approach, the album nonetheless carries a fresh feel in its stylized restlessness, and as Pastor‘s debut long-player, it finds them utterly cognizant of where they want to be as a band and the kind of ambience they want their material to… well, you know what I’m going to say.

Today I have the pleasure of hosting opener “Voodoo” as a track premiere to herald the album’s arrival one month from today. Evoke is available now to preorder from Who Can You Trust?, and Pastor will tour in Europe with Black Wizard beginning in Sept. A quote from Alex on the album’s making, the tour dates, the preorder link and more info follow the song on the player below.

Please enjoy:

RELEASE DATE: August 17th

Released in an edition of 500 copies on black vinyl.

“Evoke is basically a collection of our heaviest riffs we jammed in our rehearsal room and it’s raw,” explains drummer Alex. “It was recorded without a click track because let’s be honest, life won’t play to a steady beat either. We also didn’t do any of the usual post production fancy stuff because that’s just not us. Some of them songs were written in a hellish atmosphere, during the summer and some of them during the frosty days of a Vienna winter. I think you can hear that difference on the album pretty well. We entered the mighty halls of Elephant West Studios, with lady Sabina Sloth on the throne, chugged down some beers and just played all together in one room. We are more than excited about the result and the artwork, which was crafted by none other than Adam Burke. So sit back and turn your speakers all the way up until your whole neighborhood joins you for a drink. Enjoy the sounds of Evoke.”

“Evoke” track list:
SIDE A
A1 VOODOO
A2 DROWNING THOUGHTS
A3 WOLF VEIN
A4 WICKED WHISPERS
SIDE B
B1 MOVING ON
B2 DEVILS REEF
B3 EVOKE

Pastor Euro tour with Black Wizard:
Thu – 10.09 AUT – Graz @ Club Volt
Fri – 11.09 AUT – Linz @ Ann And Pat
Sat – 12.09 AUT – Innsbruck @ Prometheus
Sun – 13.09 – TBA
Mon – 14.09 – TBA
Tue – 15.09 AUT – Vienna @ Arena Beisl
Wed – 16.09 GER – Berlin @ Cortina Bob
Thu – 17.09 – TBA
Fri – 18.09 – TBA
Sat – 19.09 GER – Erfurt @ Cafe Tiko
Sun – 20.09 – TBA
Mon – 21.09 – TBA
Tue – 22.09 GER – Essen @ Panic Room
Wed – 23.09 – TBA
Thu – 24.09 SWI – Geneva @ L’Usine
Fri – 25.09 SWI – Olten @ Coq D’Or
Sat – 26.09 BEL – Arlon @ L’Entrepot
Sun – 27.09 BEL – Kortrijk @ The Pits
Sun – 27.09 BEL – Antwerp @ Music City
Mon – 28.09 – TBA
Tue – 29.09 ITA – Bologna @ Freak Out
Wed – 30.09 ITA – Bibione (VE) @ Beach Invaders Music Bar
Thu – 01.10 SLO – Ljubljana @ Channel Zero
Fri – 02.10 SLO – Ilirska Bistrica @ MKNZ
Sat – 03.10 ITA – Trieste @ Tetris Club

Pastor is:
Arik – vox/guitar
Shardik – guitar
Georg – bass
Alex – drums

Evoke Preorders

Pastor on Thee Facebooks

Pastor on Bandcamp

Who Can You Trust? Records BigCartel Store

Who Can You Trust? Records on Thee Facebooks

Tags: Austria, Evoke, Pastor, Pastor Evoke, Vienna, Who Can You Trust? Records

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