The debut album from Portland, Oregon’s Tigers on Opium will be issued through Heavy Psych Sounds, as the Italian imprint announced last week. The well-mustachioed four-piece have two EPs — the latest of them is 2022’s 503​.​420​.​6669​.​vol_two, which featured the single “The Perfect Cocktail” (premiered here) that was also released separately — and various other short releases under their collective belt, and to go with the unveiling of preorders, artwork and album details for their first long-player, they’ve got the first single streaming as well, which is how you do. The album is called Psychodrama, and fair enough.

Last week was the Quarterly Review, so I didn’t get to post the signing announcement as I otherwise would have. I’ll take the opportunity to congratulate the band on the deal. Especially if you have any kind of mind toward European touring, pretty much ever, Heavy Psych Sounds is where you want to be right now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Nuclear Blast would take them abroad too, but then the band would have to trigger the drums on all their studio output. That ain’t helping. The first single from the record, called “Sky Below My Feet,” has a right on hook and a lead riff that reminds of ’80s metal without actually trying to be it, midsection gets a little Green Lungy, minus the folklore, plus some QOTSA bounce. At the bottom of the post.

Alright, to the information! From the PR wire:

Heavy Psych Sounds to announce TIGERS ON OPIUM signing for their debut full length !!!

Psychodrama is Tigers on Opium’s debut full length.

ALBUM PRESALE:

https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS293

USA PRESALE:

https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.htm

A structured form of therapy in which a person dramatizes a personal problem or conflict, usually in front of a group of other therapy participants. The other participants usually take part in the drama, though each performance focuses on a single person’s concerns. The goal of psychodrama therapy is to work together in a group to achieve a better understanding of past traumas and the influence they can create, the members must feel willing to work together.

“When I came across the idea of psychodrama therapy, I started to think about how we have so many joint experiences as a society that currently happen or have happened, and how they shape both our singular and collective consciousness. Music has always been a form of therapy for not just me, but a massive amount of the people in the world. I started to conceptualize this as an idea for the album, thinking that we all have so many connections to major/micro events in time, and generally similar interpretations of them. Like the idea of a psychodrama therapy session, I started to envision how the songs could play out about these different moments… Almost like vignettes or snapshots of life, with the song playing the role of the individual, and the listeners playing the role of the group.” — Juan Carlos Caceres (vocals/guitar/keys)

The album PSYCHODRAMA explores various psychological and social experiences that have shaped our cultural evolution. Occultism, Propaganda, Atomic Warfare, Media Consumption, Religion, Social unrest, Nostalgia, Mental Struggle, Pop Culture, Revolution, and Change – are all themes explored throughout the album.

Out via Heavy Psych Sounds on March 1st 2024.

Produced by Juan Carlos Caceres
Engineered by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland and Adam Bradley Pike.
Tracked in Portland, OR at JLR Audio Productions, Dream Awake Studio, and Toadhouse Recording
Drum Tech Ben Engen
Mixed by Adam Bradley Pike at Toadhouse Recording in Portland, OR
Mastered by Jack Endino in Seattle, WA
All songs by Tigers on Opium
Lyrics by Juan Carlos Caceres
All songs published by Triangles Around Us (BMI)
Artwork by Branca Studio

TIGERS ON OPIUM is
Juan Carlos Caceres – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Piano
Nate Wright – Drums, Vocals
Charles Hodge – Bass, Vocals
Jeanot Lewis-Rolland – Guitars, Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/tigersonopium/
https://www.instagram.com/tigersonopium/
https://tigersonopium.bandcamp.com/

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Tigers on Opium, “Sky Beneath My Feet” official video

Tigers on Opium, 503.420.6669.vol_two (2022)

No, this is not the first post I’ve done with dates lined up around a band or bands playing Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2023 this weekend. You know what? I don’t give a shit. Maybe I believe very, very strongly in the heavy of the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwestern regions. Maybe I want to go to Montana some day because Wyoming is the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen and I think Montana might stand a chance of beating it in that regard. Maybe I dig underground heavy rock and roll and if I post this and share it then it’s one more thing they can post and that’s how you catch eyes and man we’re all just trying to hit that algorithm right isn’t that what life is now? Maybe?

Portland, Oregon’s Tigers on Opium, who have attitude the way major urban centers have electricity, and Twin Void, whose Free From Hardtimes was killer enough that even though I didn’t get to review it I snuck in a video premiere with Nathan Bidwell‘s Obelisk Questionnaire — that’s a good way to know I’m desperate to cover something — set out tomorrow together from the latter’s native Spokane, Washington, and will proceed through the aforementioned Rocky Mountain Riff Fest and on from there, doing three more shows in Montana because, and this is my own understanding, Montana is fucking huge, and looping back around through Idaho and Utah to finish in WA.

It’s a tidy tour worth taking the week off and making a thing out of it. If you get to see it, good on yas:

Tigers on Opium and Twin Void hit the road for a week of face smashing riff carnage. Peep the dates/locations below and get ready to come out and party with us. This will be an absolute ripper!

4/21 Spokane, WA Mootsys Bar
4/22 Kalispel, MT Rocky Mountain Riff Fest
4/23 Bozeman, MT Haufbrau House
4/24 Bozeman, MT The Filling Station
4/25 Missoula, MT Monks Bar
4/26 SLC, UT Aces High Saloon
4/27 Boise, ID Neurolux
4/28 Pullman, WA Another Round Brewing

https://www.facebook.com/twinvoidband/
https://www.instagram.com/twin_void/
https://twinvoid.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tigersonopium/
https://www.instagram.com/tigersonopium/
https://tigersonopium.bandcamp.com/

Twin Void, Free From Hardtimes (2022)

Tigers on Opium, 503.420.6669.vol_two (2022)

You had me at Loin Hammer. That’s gotta be one of the best band names I’ve seen in the last couple years, at least. They’re somewhat thrashier than one might expect given the riffy foundations of many of the other bands, but they’re still called Loin Hammer, which is enough to make it an automatic win if you see them live. Imagine being able to say, “yeah, I’ve seen Loin Hammer.” If you’re the type to get a tattoo, that’d be a good one.

You’ll note return appearances from Merlock, Wizzerd, Swamp Ritual and The Gray Goo from last year’s Rocky Mountain Riff Fest. That says to me that in addition to an all-dayer-plus-pre-show-the-night-before, this is also a party and a reunion of friends. Pulling from the Pacific Northwest, the native Montana underground, Las Vegas and beyond, the lineup looks right on for a killer day of up and coming acts.

I looked back at what I said about the 2022 edition, and my impression was largely the same; it’s an intimate enough event that by the time it’s over everybody is going to know everybody. That kind of thing creates a sense of community which sticks as a defining factor as festivals expand — the return performances slated for 2023 are another element in establishing that — and I don’t know if you’ve ever done an image search to see what Kalispell looks like, but if you’re traveling to this one you will probably not regret booking an extra day just to take in some of the surrounding scenery, which is stunning even in Chamber of Commerce photos.

And, as noted, Loin Hammer will be there. So there’s that.

From socials:

Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2023

April 22 at Old School Records & Eagles, Kalispell, MT

(free pre-party April 21 at Glacier Park VFW Post 2252)

Very pleased to announce the lineup for this year’s edition of Rocky Mountain Riff Fest!

Epic art by @isaacpasswaterillustration

Lineup April 22:

Tigers on Opium
Sorcia
Sonolith
Grail
Twin Void
Wizzerd
Swamp Ritual
The Gray Goo
Loin Hammer
Lacoro

Pre-Party April 21:

Merlock
Night Witch
Uncommon Evolution

https://www.facebook.com/blackmagickbooking
https://instagram.com/rockymtnrifffest

Tigers on Opium, 503.420.6669.vol.two (2022)

Merlock, Onward Strides Colossus (2023)

Portland, Oregon, heavy rockers Tigers on Opium release their new single The Perfect Cocktail on Jan. 15 through Forbidden Place Records. The song runs under three minutes and is perhaps best summarized by its final line: “Fuck yeah,” delivered with due self-agreement by Juan Carlos Caceres. The four-piece are headed toward a new EP release called 503.420.6669 Vol. 2 — the first volume came out last year — and while I don’t know if “The Perfect Cocktail” will feature there, it certainly does just fine as a standalone banger, lyrics of coked-up excess and post-QOTSA compressed-feeling fuzz — compliments of the recording job by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland — careening through a sans-nonsense-yet-somehow-all-nonsense progression, tight in structure but ready to throw down with whatever you’ve got. For a track that’s actually so short, it sounds like the party’s going to run late.

Tigers on Opium would seem to have been busy in the great no-shows expanse of time that was 2020 and 2021 — oh but things are really turning around now, right death counts? — writing, writing, writing. I know the feeling. Their uptempo crotchal thrust is n full display in “The Perfect Cocktail,” and if you’re feeling like you’re not necessarily on board with all the druggy hoopla, well, I’ve never done cocaine either — and I don’t really have a squad to rally — but a catchy song is a catchy song and this is that. Some things you don’t fuck with. Other things fuck regardless.

There’s an album to come as well as the next EP, which is further encouraging news, so as a heads up for stuff-to-be, I’m much more excited about hosting this track than my dry-as-hell prose would lead you to believe. Cocaine and propane is the recipe, if you’re wondering.

The perfect cocktail:

Juan Carlos Caceres on “The Perfect Cocktail”:

We’ve all had that time in life where ya feel invincible despite what gets thrown your way. There was a time in by life where I turned to some not so healthy indulgences to distract me from my problems but I came to realize, there’s always a silver lining… So rally the squad, get lit, and take the bull by the horns! This song’s basically an anthem about seeing the silver lining in tough situations, and having a good time regardless of it all.

Get it: https://tigersonopium.bandcamp.com/track/the-perfect-cocktail

Tigers spent 2020-2021 writing and recording two EP’s, a full length concept album, and another group of songs for a follow up, totaling 28 songs. The first EP 503.420.6669.vol_one was released on January 22, 2021 by Forbidden Place Records. They are partnering with FPR again and preparing to release the next installment in the 503 series, vol_two. Drawing inspiration from Portland’s gritty underground culture, the pair of EP’s dives into what life is like living in a city that has a dark shrouded past.
They self engineer all their sessions, with guitarist Jeanot Lewis-Rolland at the helm as the lead engineer, and have partnered up again with Adam Pike of Red Fang to mix the EP. Rounding out the production team is mastering engineer Ryan “Freq” Foster and producer TRIANGLES.

The quartet consists of members Juan Carlos Caceres, Nate Wright, Charles Hodge, and Jeanot Lewis-Rolland. The roots of Tigers On Opium go back to 2015 when Juan Carlos began the idea for the band and proposed it to his good friend Nate Wright. It wasn’t until 2018 that the perfect lineup had come together and the stoner rocking could truly begin.

MUSIC by Juan Carlos Caceres, Charles Hodge, Jeanot Lewis- Rolland, Nate Wright
Lyrics by Juan Carlos Caceres
Engineered by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland
Tracked at JLR Audio Productions – Dream Awake Studio
Mixed by Adam Bradley Pike at Toadhouse Recording
Mastered by Ryan “FREQ” Foster
Produced by Triangles Around Us
Art by Triangles Around Us

Tigers on Opium website

Tigers on Opium on Instagram

Tigers on Opium on Facebook

Tigers on Opium on Twitter

Tigers on Opium on Bandcamp

Forbidden Place Records on Facebook

Forbidden Place Records on Instagram

Forbidden Place Records on Bandcamp

Portland, Oregon’s Tigers on Opium are looking to raise cash and awareness for Don’t Shoot Portland, an organization started in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting in 2014 that promotes police accountability, does community outreach and supports the Movement for Black Lives, and so on. What, you thought because Joe Biden won everything was hunky dory? All the more reason to protest when someone might actually hear what you have to say.

So anyhoozle, enter Juan Carlos Caceres of Tigers on Opium, who was also featured here last week with Hundred Eyes, used to be in Sioux, has a live record coming out with Alltar and is in Hound the Wolves, probably among others. Caceres as well as drummer Nate Wright and guitarist Justin Morgan from Skulldozer came together around a cover of the Melvins classic “Hooch,” because if you’re looking to turn heavy rock heads onto an idea, that’s probably the way to do it.

Two points: First, I’m not a Melvins fan. I get it, don’t misunderstand. I do. I get it. Very influential band, tour hard, and Dale Crover is enough of a drummer to make it seem like Buzzo has written more than, like, maybe four? riffs in the last 35 years. When tour dates existed, I posted Melvins tour dates. But I’ve had a running joke (with myself, because I don’t have any friends) for years and every time I see a beardo white dude in his 20s or early 30s looking around like he’s the smartest cat in the room I say in no way loud enough to be heard, “Hey bro you like the Melvins?” and imagine that the answer is probably yes.

Second point? This year’s seen a lot of cutesy quarantine collaboration covers, like check out dudes from Nile covering Stevie Nicks or some shit. This isn’t that.

Does it matter? Probably not. Are you still reading? Probably not. Tigers on Opium released a debut EP in 2016 called There’s a Kink for That and bear the tagline “we.jam.stoner.,” which I’ll assume comes in place of “econo” à la The Minutemen. If that’s so, it would be just one other influence under which the band is working, and if I can throw this one out there as well, after four years, it’s probably time for Caceres and Wright — joined by bassist Charles Hodge and guitarist Jeanot Lewis-Rolland live — to make a record or at least another EP. If the Melvins cover kickstarts that, cool.

Enjoy the video:

Tigers on Opium, “Hooch” official video

Juan Carlos Caceres on “Hooch”:

“There’s no doubt 2020 has been a wild year! Within our own music community we’ve experienced the devastating effects of not being able to tour and play shows. Alongside that, we are all faced with some of the most polarizing societal moments in our country’s history. In the spirit of raising awareness for positive change, I collaborated with local Portland artists to produce this rendition of The Melvins song “Hooch”, in hopes of inspiring people to look up and donate to a great organization, Don’t Shoot PDX.”

Community outreach and donation is a great way to get involved in positively affecting the people around us. In the spirit of raising awareness, Tigers On Opium collaborated with members of Skulldozer to make this music video in hopes of inspiring people to look up a great organization, Don’t Shoot PDX, and consider DONATING!

DONATE TO DON’T SHOOT PDX: dontshootpdx.org

Tigers On Opium are a Portland-based stoner rock band formed out of a magical mix of scene veterans jamming and sheer happenstance. From their origins in 2015 ideas germinated for three years as the band crafted the perfect lineup, but since then the band has been hard at it. They have hence produced a stoner rock sound that hints at a love for psychedelics and hip hop, as well as a passion for literature and philosophy. This has given the band a unique aesthetic of great art that stays classy with a nice touch of grit. It sets them a head and shoulder above their peers and gives them a sound to call their own.

As the band developed, they toured the West Coast. The following year saw the band reach a whole new level of activity, playing with local headliners including Hippie Death Cult, LaGoon, Head the Hive and Disenchanter. The band’s arrival as a mainstay in the local scene was fully achieved.

The band is eager to play more shows, engage more deeply in the community and drive towards a bold new stoner rocking future. As Tigers On Opium continue to develop and prove that they deserve their place in Portland’s bubbling stoner rock scene their ambitions only grow bolder. With eyes on the prize, Tigers On Opium seek to win the hearts of heavy rock fans around the globe.

We do not own the copyright to this song it is for educational and community awareness. No monetizing.

Hooch written by the Melvins
Filmed by Triangles Around Us
Edited by Matt Howl
Additional camera work by Coyote Pistol

Music Performed by Juan Carlos Caceres, Justin Morgan, Nate Wright
Engineered by Juan Carlos Caceres, Justin Morgan, Jeanot Lewis-Rolland
Mixed and Mastered by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland @JLRAUDIOPRODUCTIONS
Produced by Triangles Around Us
Co-Produced by Frank Bowers
Justin Morgan from Skulldozer played guitar on this track.

Tigers on Opium website

Tigers on Opium on Instagram

Tigers on Opium on Thee Facebooks

Tigers on Opium on Twitter

Tigers on Opium on Bandcamp