I’m not sure I can match Exile on Mainstream head Andreas Kohl‘s description of what German avant noise rockers Beehoover do — in fact, I’m sure I can’t — so it’s probably best I leave it to him. Beehoover, who released their fourth album, The Devil and His Footmen (discussed here), on Kohl‘s label last fall, will begin a run of shows in the UK this weekend, playing alongside a host of that country’s up and coming heavy luminaries, including Undersmile, BongCauldron, Monolith Cult, Lords of Bastard and others.

It’s a heavy bunch of nights, and with Kohl‘s evident passion, the PR wire makes it something of an easy sell:

The gnarly riff-wrenching stoner rock duo Beehoover are back in a big way – whilst the world regains composure following the clout delivered on their recently released, and fourth full-length album The Devil And His Footmen (which you can stream in full here), the German drum and bass commanders have been preparing for their UK tour. Across nine days, Beehoover will travel far and wide, showcasing their hybrid, barking sludge – quite unlike anything you will have experienced before.

Who better to describe Beehoover’s musical creations than their label manager, Andreas Kohl? – “One of my most loved descriptions in music history for a tonal impact is Southern Lord’s comparison for Warhorse’s sound with the feeling of being beaten with a wet mattress. For Beehoover I could pack a gargantuan pile of descriptions on the table, ultimately I would describe my listening experience like being wrapped in plastic foil, unable to move but struck in awe facing an enormous T34, while a Stalin organ is shooting roses across the tundra, explosives that draw a dreamy coloured fireworks on the night sky.”

Kohl continues, “In the crowd, what you see is hair, just hair behind the drums and contrails from swirling drumsticks. Centred is one barefoot Urviech covering the room with noises you can’t escape from, breathing, drinking, eating and farting riffs in a quantity and variety that 15 bands could live and ride off for the next one hundred years. Rhythms, riffs, beats, songs, sounds – so emotional, glowing in urgency, blasting on your senses so that you get an overdose of endorphins just from watching this monstrous mother of all concerts, exploding like an earthquake that rips continents apart. Yes, this is what it sounds like: I love this band. Every single time I see them. I pity you if you’ve never had the chance – make your life complete and take the chance now. If there’s one band you’ve really got to see EVER – it’s these guys!”

TOUR DATES:
Fri 21 March 2014 London – Black Heart (Ghoud, Henry Blacker & Bloody Mammals)
Sat 22 March 2014 Cardiff – Moon Club (Thorun, We Are Romans and Haast’s Eagled)
Sun 23 March 2014 Bristol – Mothers Ruin
Mon 24 March 2014 Plymouth – Tiki Bar (Death Parish and Monolithian)
Tue 25 March 2014 Oxford – The Wheatsheaf (Undersmile and Caravan Of Whores)
Wed 26 March 2014 Salford – The Eagle Inn (Mask Of Bees and The Senton Bombs)
Thu 27 March 2014 Edinburgh – Banshee Labyrinth (Lords Of Bastard and [[ Wall ]])
Fri 28 March 2014 Glasgow – 13th Note (Lords Of Bastard and Skeleton Gong)
Sat 29 March 2014 Birmingham – Scruffy’s (Burden Of The Noose, Monolith Cult, Goat Leaf, Grey Widow, Wolfs Head, Bong Cauldron and Sealclubber)

Beehoover’s latest album, The Devil and His Footmen, is a swirl of raw, sultry tones and rumbling octaves that strike chords with braggadocio 70’s hard rock as much as it does the thunderous rumble of Black Cobra and the jutting angles of Unsane. Beehoover are at their most rocking here, tangling the long hair of the headbangers with all the genres of beard in one matted toupee of oddball rhythms and histrionic vocals. Beehoover buzz with eccentric electric – come along, grit your teeth and enjoy the sting.

https://www.facebook.com/beehoovermusic/
http://www.beehoover.com/
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de/

Beehoover, The Devil and His Footmen (2013)

Like their third album, 2010’s Concrete Catalyst, the newest outing from German bass/drum duo Beehoover — titled The Devil and His Footmen and out Oct. 22 through Exile on Mainstream — traffics in sounds both large and peculiar. The two-piece of Ingmar Petersen (bass and vocals) and Claus-Peter Hamisch (drums, recording and mixing) tap into tonal thickness and hairpin turns at any given moment, giving their songs a progressive, unpredictable feel. You never quite know when Petersen is going to switch from his Faith No More-style clean vocal delivery into a searing scream or gruffer shout, or when Beehoover might turn a seemingly straightforward heavy groove like that of “Rooftop” on its head with a barrage of start-stop noise rock.

It’s this very aspect, of course, that makes The Devil and His Footmen such a satisfying listen and gives it its pervasive sense of originality. Petersen and Hamisch have a decade of experience behind them, so as they move from Helmet-style crunch to oddly atmospheric low end on “Boy vs. Tree” or delight in playing tempos off each other in “My Mixtapes Suck Big Time,” their songs remain fluid and the album never loses its step. Ultimately, Beehoover hit on a particular balance of engaging and challenging that’s using familiar methods — complex drums, weighted tones, alternately harsh and clean vocals — in a manner almost entirely their own. It might take a few listens for the full impact ofThe Devil and His Footmento sink in, but once you’ve been through it a couple times, the elements that at first seem unsettling become exactly what keeps you coming back for more. Even as you’re trying to figure out what’s going on at a given moment, the songs are working their way into your subconscious.

And while that sounds like a warning, the results are undeniably positive. Today I have the pleasure of hosting “My Mixtapes Suck Big Time” for streaming in advance of the record’s release, and it’s a song that exemplifies how well Beehoover are able to craft a linear feel throughout weirdo choruses and a tension that seems to build even as it’s paying off. Unless you spend the rest of your day listening to Beehoover, chances are you won’t hear anything else quite like it.

Check out “My Mixtapes Suck Big Time” on the player below, and please enjoy:

[mp3player width=480 height=150 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=beehoover-mixtapes-suck.xml]

The Devil and His Footmen by Beehoover is out now in Europe and will be available in North America on Oct. 22 via Exile on Mainstream Records on CD and vinyl (limited to 500 copies). More info at the links below:

Beehoover’s website

Exile on Mainstream