-(16)- Touring Europe in May; Scorpions Cover Posted
Long-running sludge punk/rock/metallers -(16)- are set to release their first covers collection, Forgeries Vol. 1 (1972-1984) — just to do some quick math, if they go in eight-year increments, they’ll be up to five more volumes before they get to Taylor Swift‘s current single “Opalite” — on May 1 through Heavy Psych Sounds. Previously announced for Desertfest Oslo and Desertfest London as well as Heavy Psych Sounds Fests hither and yon, and others besides, the band have now made known the course of the tour that will draw it all together.
And because it’s how things are done, the tour announcement comes coupled with the unveiling of a new single, which is the band’s take on Scorpions‘ “Can’t Get Enough” from 1979’s Lovedrive, delivered with characteristically pummeling intent. You’ll find it at the bottom of this post.
As to why I’m a week late on this news? I’m not sure. Sometimes I just get backed up on stuff. I’m doing my best though, and it’s not like the tour’s started, so I’ll ask you to cut me some slack and hope you understand that a big part of me is talking to myself there.
Anyway, from the PR wire:
Californian sludge veterans -(16)- release noisy Scorpions cover off upcoming “Forgeries Vol 1, (1972-1984)” album on Heavy Psych Sounds; European & UK tour announced!
Santa Ana, California sludge metal veterans -(16)- drag the anthemic metal of Scorpions through the mud with their raucous cover of “Can’t Get Enough”, premiering now on Metalsucks. Their upcoming 11th album “Forgeries Vol 1, 1972-1984” will be released on May 1st via Heavy Psych Sounds, followed by an extensive European and UK tour.
There comes a point in every band’s life when originality stops being a virtue and honesty takes the wheel. On their 11th long-playing record: Forgeries 1972-1984, -(16)- return to the impulse that first dragged them into loud rooms and bad ideas: the urge to steal what we love and make it semi-unrecognizable through devotion. “We have partnered with Heavy Psych Sounds Records to release a collection of covers that function less as homage and more as a possession to be given away,” says the band. The artwork, rendered by the ever-amazing Marald van Haasteren, completes the ritual, iconic, unsettling, and unafraid.
“We’ve always believed that a great cover is not mimicry but revelation. It’s finding a song that’s already lived inside you since youth and letting it crawl out, bruised and changed.” From the early ’90s onward, -(16)- have treated covers as translations rather than as replicas, acts of tribute and emulation, filtered through distortion, fatigue, and lived experience. “These are songs that taught us how to stand, how to fall, and how to keep going,” they add. “In our collective head, this album exists because these songs demanded it. Because they screamed copy me, and we listened. In the end, Forgeries 1972-1984 stands as both a thank you note and a theft, a reminder that all music worth a damn is borrowed, broken, and passed on between friends.”
The selections on Forgeries 1972-1984 span eras and attitudes, unified not by genre but by necessity. Each track is a document of obsession, of influence absorbed and re-expressed without permission. The first volume will be issued on LP, CD and digital on May 1st, with preorders available via Heavy Psych Sounds.
*** -(16)- – European Tour 2026 ***
01.05 PT Barroselas – SWR Metalfest
02.05 IT Torino – HPS Fest
03.05 IT Bologna – HPS Fest
04.05 IT Genova – Trinità Live Club
05.05 IT Milano – Legend Club
06.05 IT Pescara – Scumm
07.05 IT Roma – Traffic Live Club
08.05 NO Oslo – Deserfest
09.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
10.05 FR Marseille – Le Molotov
12.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
13.05 DE Göppingen – Gaststätte Zille
14.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
15.05 CH Winterthur – HPS FEST
16.05 UK London – Desertfest
17.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
18.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
19.05 NL Amsterdam – Toekomst muziek
20.05 DE Bielefeld – Forum
21.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
22.05 DE Dürrröhrsdorf – GockelScream
23.05 CZ Brno – Kabinet Muz
24.05 ***OPEN SLOT***
-(16)- is
Bobby Ferry – Guitars / Vocals
Alex Shuster – Lead Guitar
Barney Firks – Bass
Dion Thurman – Drums / Percussion
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https://www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
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