Merlock Announce You Cannot Be Saved EP Out Nov. 19; Performance Video Posted
In the trippy performance video at the bottom of this post that covers the entirety of their upcoming EP, You Cannot Be Saved, Spokane, Washington, now-trio Merlock include the track “Where No One Goes,” which they say will feature on their upcoming LP next year. They call it their debut, though I thought last year’s That Which Speaks… (review here) was that, but I’m not about to quibble details. For that matter, You Cannot Be Saved is 39 minutes long — or at least the video is — so what the hell. We could be here all day with this crap and still say nothing about the music.
But the music is the thing. Listening to “Where No One Goes,” and indeed songs like “Idolon (Return)” and the drawling “Gloomtrain,” you can get a sense of where guitarist/vocalist Taylor D. Waring is coming from in talking about the band finding their sound. Yeah, they close with “Electric Funeral” and that’s good fun, but there and in the originals preceding, I get a vibe distinctly like a rawer incarnation of earliest, 12th Records-era YOB, and if that’s where Merlock are setting out from with their first record — or first as a three-piece, or second, or whatever — then that’s one I’m going to look forward to hearing next year.
And you know I keep a list for that kind of thing.
You Cannot Be Saved is out Nov. 19 and the band have tour dates to support. All info follows here, courtesy of the PR wire:
Merlock – You Cannot Be Saved EP – Nov. 19
Formed in 2017 in Spokane, Washington, Merlock came together as recent Spokane transplants. Having weathered lineup changes and the ongoing madness of coronavirus, they have made their presence known in the Northwest US and beyond.
You Cannot Be Saved, the highly anticipated EP follow up to that which speaks… (2020) emerges on November 19, 2021. Recorded live on Halloween weekend to capture the band’s organic energy and psychedelic leanings, the EP showcases the authentic, adventurous style of these forlorn stoners in their debut as a 3-piece.
You Cannot Be Saved features reimagined tracks from their first demo and that which speaks…, a never before recorded early track, a new track from their anticipated 2022 full release, and a cover of Electric Funeral. For newcomers and fans alike, You Cannot Be Saved offers an experience down a dour path into the unknown.
Picking up where that which speaks… left off You Cannot Be Saved further explores Merlock’s fascination with shadow work and digging through the sludgey recesses of the mind. Sonically more raw and infinitely heavier than its predecessor, the EP pushes the extremities of Merlock and their post-doom soundscapes.
To support the release, Merlock are hitting the road for their You Cannot Be Saved Tour. They will be touring the Northwest in November 2021 with tour dates scheduled in California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. As they crawl forward through a wall of sound, they smoke out the demons from the inner void. Can you be saved?
Quotes:
“We recorded You Cannot Be Saved to reintroduce the world to Merlock. that which speaks… felt stilted and inorganic and after losing our rhythm guitar player, we wanted to take a step back and reevaluate what Merlock meant to the rest of us. It’s a sonic vessel, a ritual exorcism, damnation and salvation all at once.” (Taylor D. Waring, guitar/vox)
“Thematically, You Cannot Be Saved involves a lot of shadwork. I try to explore the worst parts of myself and my culture in order to interrogate and exorcise–to cast them into the pyres of damnation. Tracks like “Grimelord” and “Gloomtrain” explore failed relationships and “Final Condemnation” speaks to a sense of self-disgust, both personally and culturally. However, it’s not all darkness in there: “Idolon (return)” is about refusing to wallow in the depths of self-doubt and “Where No One Goes”, which will be our debut full-length next year, finds a spiritual center in all of murky, mystical darkness.” (Taylor D. Waring, guitar/vox)
Tracklist:
1. Grimelord (Hailey Moore, Taylor D. Waring)
2. Idolon (return) (Taylor D. Waring)
3. Final Condemnation (Andrew Backes, Hailey Moore, Taylor D. Waring)
4. Where No One Goes (Taylor D. Waring)
5. Gloomtrain (Taylor D. Waring)
6. Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath)
Album Credits:
Engineered by Jamie Yeats and Wayne Randall at Black Magick Studios, in Kalispell, MT
Mixed by Nicholas Wilbur at The Unknown in Anacortes, WA
Mastered by Uncle Randy at Sky Ranch Studios
Artwork by RF Pangborn
Layout by Taylor D. Waring
Tour Dates:
11/5/21 – Moscow, ID | The Plant w/ Oakflesh
11/6/21 – TBD
11/7/21 – Eureka, CA | Siren’s Song w/ Fhog
11/8/21 – Sacramento, CA | Cafe Colonial w/ TBD
11/9/21 – Pacifica, CA | Winter’s Tavern w/ Wizzerd
11/10/21 – Santa Cruz, CA | Blue Lagoon w/ Y-axes & Supernaut
11/11/21 – Reno, NV | Dead Ringer Analog Bar w/ Ozymandias
11/12/21 – Salt Lake City, UT | Aces High w/ Pinewalker
11/13/21 – Boise, ID | The Corral w/ Ghorot
https://www.facebook.com/MerlockSpokane/
https://www.instagram.com/merlocklives/
https://merlock.bandcamp.com/
https://www.merlocklives.com/
