High Priest to Release Invocation June 23; “Divinity” Video Posted
Having been lucky enough to see these cats play in 2019 (review here) and to dig into their till-now latest offering, that same year’s Sanctum EP (review here), I’m ready to stand on the precipice of their next record and declare them underrated. The melody and tonal depth of the new track “Divinity” bodes well for what’s to come when the Chicago four-piece issue their Invocation full-length, their approach solidified in terms of craft with a hefty push behind it while hitting harder here as well.
As to the reasons they might be underrated, well, history shows EPs consistently get less attention, and their moniker is generic to a point of being almost too easy to pass by — I would like to see them tour with L.A.’s High Priestess on some kind of non-lucid-clergy-themed excursion — and given the glut of heavy everything out right now, that’s probably enough. Market saturation and all that.
But if there’s one takeaway you get from this post, let it be not to sleep on them either because of your own burnout with all that is vaguely stoner, or at very least to check out the “Divinity” video below, which will neither take much of your busy day nor likely be a thing you’ll regret later. Info came from the PR wire:
HIGH PRIEST unleash video single ‘Divinity’ taken from the forthcoming new album “Invocation”
Preorder link:
http://lnk.spkr.media/highpriest-invocation
Chicago stoner doom aficionados HIGH PRIEST have released the psychedelic video ‘Divinity’ as the first single taken from their forthcoming debut album “Invocation”. The full-length is scheduled for release on June 23, 2023. Please find all album details below.
High Priest comment on the album: “This record was a long long time coming”, guitarist John Regan writes about “Invocation”. “On top of the craziness in the world the last two years, we experienced a lot of changes as a band: PHDs, new businesses, new homes, new cities. Despite all that, we brought all our energy into an album that feels like the best and most complete work we’ve ever done. ‘Invocation’ feels like catharsis inside chaos.”
John Regan discusses the lead single ‘Divinity’: “We had eight songs written and decided to do one more push to see what we could come up with”, the guitarist states. “I started playing some iPhone riff demos and when Dan heard ‘Divinity’, he said, ‘that one is a banger’. We started working with it and the full song pretty much came together in one day. It’s probably the most energetic song on the record, and we feel like it gives every piece a moment in the sun: huge drum fills, harmonized guitar solos, and a vocal hook. It’s the kind of song that makes you want to get in your car and drive down an open road, only your car is a spaceship and the road is the galaxy.”
Tracklist
1. Invocation
2. Divinity
3. Ceremony
4. Cosmic Key’
5. Down in the Dark
6. Universe
7. Conjure
8. Heaven
Release date: June 23, 2023
Recording & mixing by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Recording, Chicago, USA
Artwork by John Regan
Available formats
“Invocation” is available as a translucent green vinyl LP, on translucent lime and green marble vinyl, and on orange vinyl, and as Digisleeve CD.
Line-up
Pete Grossmann – guitar
Justin Valentino – vocals, bass
Dan Polak – drums
John Regan – guitar
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