Of course, this tour announcement — like just about anything these days — comes with a big ol’ asterisk that leads to a reminder saying ‘we sure hope this actually happens.’ But to look at the list of dates, it seems like this might be how tours need to happen for a while. Two bands touring their own country, hardly seems like minimalizing exposure, but even these two bands share members. Wall is Ryan Cole and Elliot Cole, who also happen to play in The Grand Mal (also Desert Storm, but let’s stick to one story at a time) as part of what’s apparently now a five-piece.

And while bringing a new bandmate along is one more person breathing air in the van, certainly having one band sprung off from the other mitigates that somewhat. The Grand Mal released their self-titled debut (review here) on APF Records in Oct. 2019, and Wall did the same (review here) just last month. They’re labelmates as well as bandmates. So there you go.

And hey, maybe in the UK in August these shows can be outdoors somehow? Seems impossible at The Black Heart, unless they take over that alley, but that’d be kind of fun too. In any case, I hope the gigs happen, and it’s easy to imagine the bands do too.

The Grand Mal posted the following on the social medias:

The Grand Mal w/ Wall – UK Tour 2021

Pleased to announce, (providing Covid doesn’t stop things) we will finally be touring the UK to promote our debut album, which is out now on APF Records.

Support from WALL.

TOUR DATES
———————
12.08.21 | Banbury | Wheatsheaf Banbury
13.08.21 | Glasgow | Ivory Blacks
14.08.21 | Bolton | The Alma Inn
15.08.21 | Blackpool | Waterloo Music Bar Blackpool
16.08.21 | Hull | Gorilla Studio
17.08.21 | Bradford | Al’s Juke Bar
18.08.21 | London | The Black Heart
19.08.21 | Gloucester | The Dick Whittington
20.08.21 | Swansea | The Bunkhouse Swansea
21.08.21 | Oxford | The Wheatsheaf Oxford

Poster by Tom Instone

Buried In Smoke Promotions

https://www.facebook.com/thegrandmal/
https://thegrandmal.bigcartel.com/
https://thegrandmal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords
https://www.instagram.com/apfrecords/
https://apfrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

The Grand Mal, The Grand Mal (2019)

It is one of the oldest stories in rock and roll: players from two bands get together; new band is made. So it is that Dave-O and Rob Glenn of Mother Corona and Elliot and Ryan Cole of Desert Storm have joined forces under the banner of APF Records as The Grand Mal. Their self-titled debut is a 52-minute 10-tracker that the Oxford-based unit will release on Oct. 18 ahead of appearances at Manchester’s Sophie Lancaster Festival and APF‘s own all-dayer, which I hear is quite the party. All the better, as one could say the same of the record itself, with the band dipping into grassroots heavy rock groove and brash delivery, not shy about grit in cuts like “No Man’s Land” or the swinging fuzzo-stomper “Liquid Death,” but at the same time shooting for more than party rock vibes. On vocals, Dave-O is a metal-rooted John Garcia, while the band behind him makes an aesthetic of their rawness, with the later slower roll in “Eschaton” coming across extra thick ahead of the driving rocker “Black Spiral” and more out-there closer “Significant.”

Yeah, it’s a first record, but The Grand Mal aren’t exactly taking tentative baby-steps here so much as honing classic rocking sneer with a modern weight behind it. It’s a combo that brooks little argument, and fun as it is, as the album plays through, it only seems to build on the early rocking start of “Explode,” “No Man’s Land” and “Burning Truth,” the last of which you can stream as a track premiere at the bottom of this post, because the proof, ultimately, is in the riffing.

Preorders are up from APF. Have at it:

APF Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Oxford-based heavy hitters The Grand Mal, and with it the release of their self-titled debut album this October.

Featuring twin brothers Ryan and Elliot Cole from rising stoner metal behemoths Desert Storm, the decision to back this promising new project was a “no-brainer” according to Andrew Field; peddler of some of the UK’s finest rock/metal underground albums in recent memory on his Manchester-based label.

“I’ve been Desert Storm’s biggest fan since I discovered their music six years ago, which is why I signed them in 2017,” he explains. “Elliot and Ryan approached me about releasing The Grand Mal’s debut and I jumped on it. It’s a joy to continue my relationship with them and I’m excited that APF Records is putting out this stunning release.”

Complimenting the Cole brothers in The Grand Mal are Mother Corona vocalist Dave-O and bassist Rob Glenn. Their first single – ‘Burning Truth’ – is both indebted and in line with the colossal riffs and big grooves of the quartet’s collective influences. Inspired by bands such as Black Sabbath, Kyuss, Soundgarden and Royal Blood, as Butthole Surfers’ JD Pinkus put it best. “The Grand Mal is like Queens of the Stone Age mixed with 80’s Ozzy.”

The Grand Mal’s self-titled debut album is released on Friday, 18th October through APF Records and can be pre-ordered here https://apfrecords.bigcartel.com/.

LIVE:
6/9/19 – The Facebar – Reading, UK
28/9/19 – O2 Academy2 (w. Evil Scarecrow) – Oxford, UK
26/10/19 – The Underground (w. Desert Storm) – Bradford, UK
22/11/19 – The Port Mahon (w. Gnome) – Oxford, UK
23/11/19 – Rebellion (Sophie Lancaster Festival) – Manchester, UK
2/02/20 – The Bread Shed (APF All-Dayer) – Manchester, UK

TRACK LISTING:
1. Explode
2. No Man’s Land
3. Burning Truth
4. Synapse Transmission
5. Liquid & Dust
6. Glitch
7. Pig In The Python
8. Eschaton
9. Black Spiral
10. Significant

THE GRAND MAL: Dave-O (Vocals), Ryan Cole (Guitar), Elliot Cole (Drums), Rob Glenn (Bass)

https://www.facebook.com/thegrandmal/
https://thegrandmal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords/
http://apfrecords.bigcartel.com/

The Grand Mal, “Burning Truth” official premiere