Why call your band Sheepfucker and Kraut? I don’t really have a good answer for that question, since to my knowledge in the course of human history up to apparently seven years ago, no one had done it. It certainly gets the attention. I’m all for a bit of stonerly charm — one assumes the sheep finds it less humorous — but yeah, obviously the Sofia, Bulgaria-based outfit aren’t shooting for mass appeal. FM radio need not apply, which is just fine since FM radio also doesn’t exist anymore in this context.

However Mr. Sheepfucker and Mr. Kraut got together, the band built out to be an international four-piece with roots in Italy, Germany, Guatemala and Bulgaria, and their 2022 debut, Pipes — streaming below — rules. I hadn’t heard it until the announcement of the follow-up came through, because I suck at being cool like I suck at everything, but check out “Love is Dead” or the instrumental “Burning Churches” and the vibe should catch on quickly enough. Driving fuzz, catchy in a post-QOTSA careen, but more raucous and punk in “Fire” and self-aware in the stoner roll of “Cosmic Universal Studio.” Their alignment with Threechords Records brings word of a follow-up, Bring Your Sheep, which is to see release in October. I’ll go ahead and hope that the title isn’t indicative of a theme in the songs themselves.

All kidding aside — and I’m not kidding when I say The Obelisk doesn’t endorse fucking sheep, any other animals, furniture, or anything/anyone against their will — as much as the moniker makes Sheepfucker and Kraut seem like a toss-off, the songs are there. I haven’t heard Bring Your Sheep yet, but I consider myself lucky to have caught up to Pipes at this point and look forward to the follow-up to come.

The PR wire brought the signing and album announcement. Bring Your Sheep is due in October:

Since forming in 2017, the Sofia (Bulgaria) based duo quickly managed to get well known on the local stoner scene, but staying like that was no more acceptable for them. That’s why, in the beginning of 2019, the Sheepfucker (Sardegna, Italy) and Mr. Kraut (Germany) welcomed the bassist Riccardo Sunda (Italy).

Their rough heavy, a little bit chaotic stoner melodies with cracked powerful vocals turned groovier and the band became well known in the local rock clubs. The search for uniqueness led them to the doorstep of a thrash metal guitar player, Dr. Espresso (Guatemala), and their first full album, Pipes, was released on digital form in 2022.

Riccardo Sunda was replaced with a new bass player, Mr. Goodnews (Bulgaria) and that way, Sheepfucker and Kraut became an energetic, creative and aggressively unusual stoner band, originating from an Italian-German collaboration, enhanced with heavy Guatemalan fuzz, whose hypnotically heavy-thrash riffs were softened by the gentle note of the Bulgarian bass. The vocals were enriched by all the band members, and Dr. Espresso, who manipulatively and aggressively is using his Explorer guitar, is leading us to virulent rhythms and to the knotty basslines of Mr. Goodnews.

The band and the sound were finally completed, the band now shares the stage with WeedWolf, Godsleep, Villagers of Ioannina City, Mondo Generator etc, and gaining more and more experience, they started to work on their second album, “Bring Your Sheep”, which will be released in early October 2024 by Threechords Records on limited “black sheep” edition 180 gr vinyl, limited “sauerkraut” edition, CD and super limited cassettes.

https://www.facebook.com/sheepandkraut
https://www.instagram.com/sheepfuckerandkraut_official
https://sheepfuckerandkraut.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@sheepfuckerandkraut3730

https://www.instagram.com/thelabrecords/
https://www.facebook.com/threechords.net/
https://www.instagram.com/threechords_record_store/

Sheepfucker and Kraut, Pipes (2022)