Posted in Whathaveyou on January 27th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
We’re now less than a month out from New Orleans heavy rockers Suplecs releasing their first album in 15 years, Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky (review here), Feb. 20 on Ripple Music. If you’re not immediately stoked on that prospect, it’s cool. It’s been a decade and a half, after all. A generation of bands has happened in the interim. But take it from me, the fact that this band — whose roots go back to the mid-’90s sludge scene, who released on Man’s Ruin before the collapse of the turn-of-the-century’s most crucial US imprint, and who continue to kick ass all over every stage they play — are announcing any European shows at all is a big deal.
I don’t know when the last time they went abroad was, and I don’t know when they’ll go again. There are two shows with Unsane, in London and Brussels, and a trio of dates in Norway, one of them with Håndgemeng in Oslo and one of them at a ‘private party’ in Stavenger, which is kind of an incredible thought. To whoever’s getting married there, congratulations on both the nuptials/whatever and your likely-legendary taste.
It’s still up in the air how many shows Suplecs will end up doing to support Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky, but they’re a see-them-when-you-can band, and if you ever wanted to know why a ‘power trio’ configuration became a thing, a perfect lesson in how it’s done.
From social media:
European Spring Tour Dates!!! See Y’all in April!!
Suplecs Spring Tour Europe 2026 09.04.26 w/ Astrovagant @ Blygeharry Ostervag Stavenger Norway 10.04.26 w/ Håndgemeng @ Brewgata Oslo Norway 11.04.26 Private Party Stavenger Norway 13.04.26 w/ Unsane @ New Cross Inn London UK 15.04.26 w/ Unsane @ Magasin 4 Brussels Belgium
SUPLECS is Danny Nick – Bass, Vocals Durel Yates – Guitars, Vocals Andrew Preen – Drums, Percussion
New Orleans heavy rock veterans Suplecs will release their fifth album and first in 15 years, Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky, on Feb. 20 through Ripple Music. If that doesn’t elicit a Stone-Cold-Steve-Austin-circa-’96-level ‘hell yeah’ from the frontal cortex of your brain, feel free to go back and read it again. There’s new Suplecs coming. Rockers, awaken.
It should tell you something that Suplecs — who’ve never been the biggest of big bands or the most hyped, who’ve toured plenty in their time but not in a long time, and so on — have released albums through the three record labels most responsible for defining the course of American heavy rock over the last 25-plus years. Their first two LPs, 2000’s Wrestlin’ With My Ladyfriend and 2001’s Sad Songs… Better Days (discussed here) were on Man’s Ruin. The story of 2005’s Powtin’ on the Outside Pawty on the Inside is complex and the album was released through a local imprint, but 2011’s Mad Oak Redoux (review here) was on Small Stone, and Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky being on Ripple completes the trifecta. It is not a coicidence.
I went 11 years between seeing them at a Small Stone showcase in Philly in 2011 (review here) and in Richmond, Virginia, in 2022 at Alabama Thunderpussy‘s reunion show (review here), and was still looking forward to it, no questions asked. If you went to Ripplefest Texas in 2025, you already know why. When they got on stage, they delivered like a band who — perhaps contrary to the insistant chorus of opening track “Got Nothing” here — had more to say. Rooted in ’90s-style fuzz, Suplecs have always kept the forms loose and the performances tight, and despite the severity of the title, Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky retains some of the humor, funk and swing that have made their first two LPs classics by now, and will be recognizable for that. In ideal fashion, the fifth record accounts for the band’s beginnings and roots, while having grown well beyond them.
The narrative of Suplecs‘ sound was never actually so simple as ‘fuzz plus riffs,’ and Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky reinforces this as well, in part with two side-ending divergences in the string-inclusive “Old Spanish Trail,” which builds around a purposefully slogging jangle guitar line with an evocative melody and is the longest inclusion at 6:45, and the album-capper “La Ti Da,” which harnesses the largesse of side B leadoff “Damn These Pills” and works in a Mardi Gras horn section to blow out the finish with a huge nod that, thankfully, at no point in its drawling ourse approaches being ska. Bullet dodged, gentlemen. And with apparent ease. Other cuts like the strutting “Blackwater Rising,” or the taut two-minute roller “Pentacle Star” or the punker thrust of “$6 Man” or the midtempo howler “I See You” (premiering below), which is apparently a crunching ode to guitarist/vocalist Durel Yates‘ mother, create a flow through material that still holds its ripper sensibility at the core — “Mountain,” “Forest of Fire,” “Heartless Bodies,” etc. — and builds complexity around the root methodology.
Which tells you what? Suplecs aren’t wasting their time. Throughout Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky, Yates, bassist/vocalist Danny Nick and drummer Andrew Preen are very clearly not unaware of the decade and a half it’s been since they were last heard from in a studio capacity — they’ve still played live, built a local Mardi Gras following, and so on, as you can read in the PR wire info below — and there are aspects of Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky that speak to the band sitting down, hammering out the songs, putting time and effort into sculpting a sound that, in parts anyway, wants you as the listener to think it’s off the cuff. It works in the sense of making difficult changes sound less difficult, and calls to mind a sneaky songwriterism that’s always been underlying and continues to make songs memorable here.
Ain’t nobody gettin’ any younger, in Suplecs or otherwise, and Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky resonates with a feeling of the band locking in with a purpose. Part of that is expressive, part is expansive, part is clearly about the chemistry and the joy Yates, Nick and Preen feel creating music together, and all of it results in a gorgeous 48-minute/12-track outing that, yeah, pushes the form of a vinyl LP, but makes its every moment essential through urgent delivery and the already noted, purposeful variety.
I’ll not feign impartiality; I’m glad this record exists, and more, I’m glad it doesn’t suck. Rather, it feels like Suplecs stepping up to a moment that, hopefully, will see them able to get some of the broader plaudits for which they’re long overdue. No, I don’t think they’ll ever be the biggest or most hyped band, but one can’t ignore the fact that Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky will likely be Suplecs‘ introduction to a lot of listeners in a generation that’s come up since 2010, and I have a hard time imagining it being anything other than well received.
December was last month, and that was year-end list time. I’ll tell you in all seriousness that I have Hymns Under a Blood Moon Sky in my notes for Dec. 2026 already, so when it comes around again, you can’t say you’re surprised. If/when you hear the album, I’m not sure how you could be.
I hope they get added to Emissions From the Monolith.
Enjoy “I See You” in the visualizer below, followed by more from the aforementioned PR wire:
Suplecs, “I See You” visualizer premiere
“Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky” is a gut-wrenching ride through the New Orleans trio’s world. It ranges from the relentless, Maiden-meets-Sabbath attack of “Got Nothing” to the haunting, brass-backed NOLA jazz funeral dirge of “La Ti Da” featuring the horns of Egg Yolk Jubilee. The album fearlessly tackles themes of death, divorce, suicide and addiction (“Blackwater Rising”), balanced by moving tributes such as guitarist and vocalist Durel Yates’ ode to his mother, “I See You”. It weaves in diverse influences, from Black Flag swagger to prog-jazz intricacy, culminating in the dynamic first single: “No Apologies.”
The album’s title and artwork are deeply rooted in New Orleans history and personal narrative. The cover features a 1960s painting by Danny Nick’s father, famed Jackson Square artist Richard “D.Nick” Nick, depicting the pirate Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which housed an arsenal of weapons strategic to the victory of The Battle Of New Orleans in the War of 1812. The title, Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky, serves as a tribute to the band’s resilient, outsider spirit—forging an arsenal of riffs in secrecy to pay homage to the only home they’ve ever known.
TRACKLIST: 1. Got Nothing 2. Pentacle Star 3. I See You 4. Forest of Fire 5. Blackwater Rising 6. Old Spanish Trail 7. Damn These Pills 8. Mountain 9. $6 Man 10. Heartless Bodies 11. No Apologies 12. La Ti Da
Marked by life’s passages, Suplecs have maintained a vital presence, most notably with their annual Mardi Gras show—a New Orleans staple for over 500 attendees, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025. Now, after years of fan-favorite live sets, the band is channeling decades of raw experience, swagger, and heaviness into writing their highly anticipated fifth album, promising a powerful culmination of their storied career.
SUPLECS is Danny Nick – Bass, Vocals Durel Yates – Guitars, Vocals Andrew Preen – Drums, Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 3rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
If you can’t funk with Suplecs, we ain’t gonna be friends. The narrative holds it’s been 15 years since the New Orleans fuzzstrutter power trio released their still-latest album, 2010’s Mad Oak Redoux (review here), and that’s plenty long for a band that good to go unheard-from studio-wise, but the horrid truth is Mad Oak Redoux was itself built on sessions that took place earlier. If you want to go further back, their last album-proper was 2005’s Powtin’ on the Outside Pawty on the Inside, which as noted below coincided with Hurricane Katrina. That was neither the first nor the last time circumstances would shit all over the notion of Suplecs getting their due. 20 years later, if the world ended between now and Feb. 20, I couldn’t really say it would be a surprise.
Longtime denizens of Small Stone showcases, the band played Ripplefest Texas this year and no doubt woke up some heads. Last time I saw them was at the end of 2022 in Virginia (review here) and their groove was glorious. This goes right to the top of my most anticipated for 2026 list and if the Deep Purple-derived riff of opening track “Got Nothing” — streaming below, of course — is anything to go by, I have a lot to look forward to.
From the PR wire:
New Orleans stoner metal trio SUPLECS (with former EyeHateGod) to issue new album “Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky” on Ripple Music; first single streaming!
New Orleans stoner rock veterans SUPLECS announce their great return with the release of their first studio album in over a decade, “Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky”, this February 20th through Ripple Music and stream the first single “Got Nothing” today!
Get a full shot of adrenaline with new single “Got Nothing”
The album’s genesis took place in a hallowed Mid-City rehearsal space; the same warehouse that incubated the foundational New Orleans sludge of Crowbar or Graveyard Rodeo and echoed with the grooves of The Meters. Drawing inspiration from this legacy, Suplecs started crafting new material before being forced out by complaints of noise — an ironic fate for a room once dedicated to forging the city’s sound. They proceeded to track the album at High Tower Studios with esteemed engineer James Whitten (High On Fire, Thou), resulting in a mature, sonically diverse and emotionally charged collection.
“Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky” is a gut-wrenching ride through the New Orleans trio’s world. It ranges from the relentless, Maiden-meets-Sabbath attack of “Got Nothing” to the haunting, brass-backed NOLA jazz funeral dirge of “La Ti Da” featuring the horns of Egg Yolk Jubilee. The album fearlessly tackles themes of death, divorce, suicide and addiction (“Blackwater Rising”), balanced by moving tributes such as guitarist and vocalist Durel Yates’ ode to his mother, “I See You”. It weaves in diverse influences, from Black Flag swagger to prog-jazz intricacy, culminating in the dynamic first single: “No Apologies.”
The album’s title and artwork are deeply rooted in New Orleans history and personal narrative. The cover features a 1960s painting by Danny Nick’s father, famed Jackson Square artist Richard “D.Nick” Nick, depicting the pirate Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which housed an arsenal of weapons strategic to the victory of The Battle Of New Orleans in the War of 1812. The title, Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky, serves as a tribute to the band’s resilient, outsider spirit—forging an arsenal of riffs in secrecy to pay homage to the only home they’ve ever known.
TRACKLIST: 1. Got Nothing 2. Pentacle Star 3. I See You 4. Forest of Fire 5. Blackwater Rising 6. Old Spanish Trail 7. Damn These Pills 8. Mountain 9. $6 Man 10. Heartless Bodies 11. No Apologies 12. La Ti Da
Hailing from New Orleans and formed in 1996, Suplecs stands as a powerhouse trio in the stoner rock scene. Consisting of Danny Nick (ex-EyeHateGod), Durel Yates, and Andrew Preen, the trio forged their legacy with their first two albums on Frank Kozik’s iconic Man’s Ruin Records: 2000’s “Wrestlin’ With My Lady Friend” (produced by EyeHateGod bandmate Jimmy Bower) and 2001’s “Sad Songs, Better Days” (produced by Dave Fortman of Ugly Kid Joe). This era cemented their reputation through relentless coast-to-coast tours with heavyweights like Clutch, Alabama Thunderpussy, High On Fire, Corrosion Of Conformity, Gwar and Halfway To Gone.
Their third album, 2004’s “Powtin’ On The Outside, Pawty On The Inside” was produced by another NOLA heavyweight, Pepper Keenan of Corrosion of Conformity. Unfortunately, the album failed to gain the traction it deserved as it was released on local label Nocturnal Records, which was sidelined along with the band and everyone from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.
After a period of rebuilding, Suplecs reemerged through various appearances over the next few years at SXSW, helped by their new home Small Stone Records. In 2011, they would release their fourth album “Mad Oak Redoux” and gained a coveted High Times Magazine Award as “Stoner Rock Band Of The Year”. The following years saw them continue their musical journey with appearances at Voodoo Fest, Mutants Of Monsters Fest, and Bayou Boogaloo, along with yearly pilgrimages to their second home in Austin, Texas. Their music has been featured on TV shows such as “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and “MTV’s Fun Factory”.
Marked by life’s passages, Suplecs have maintained a vital presence, most notably with their annual Mardi Gras show—a New Orleans staple for over 500 attendees, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025. Now, after years of fan-favorite live sets, the band is channeling decades of raw experience, swagger, and heaviness into writing their highly anticipated fifth album, promising a powerful culmination of their storied career.
SUPLECS is Danny Nick – Bass, Vocals Durel Yates – Guitars, Vocals Andrew Preen – Drums, Percussion
