Tuesday 5 February 2019

VIDEO PREMIERE: Herod deliver oppressive heaviness with "Fork Tongue"


Recently voted album of the week at THE SLUDGELORD for their forthcoming album “Sombre Dessein” Herod are a juggernaut of bulldozing riffs that represent the next evolutionary step for the band and will see the band attain the respect they deserve, as one of the foremost purveyors of oppressive face melting heaviness.   “Sombre Dessein” will released on 15th February via Pelagic Records and today to whet your appetite we’re premiering the video for the track “Fork Tongue” below and you can read the bands thoughts about the video too.  Crank up the volume and watch your speakers die!!
"When Michael Pilat (Vocal/gtr) and Pierre Carroz (founder/gtr) worked on the lyrics, they came up with a concept made out of ideas and punch lines Pierre had been collecting for a few months. At that time Pierre was reading the works of a French philosopher (Michel Onfray) who introduced him to the idea of the inescapable end of our civilization as a Greek tragedy. We all have studied the history of ancient civilizations that have collapsed at some point, but it is like we cannot face the idea that we might reach the end of our civilization that started about 2000 years ago. After brainstorming, they decided to build the lyrics with the concept of the rise & fall of a dictator, which is also a tip of the cap to King Herod. 

Design-wise, Pierre had the idea of the « Shipbreakers" when he saw the documentary "Freightened" (https://www.freightened.com) that talks about the cargo freight which ships 90% of what we consume in social, economic and environmentally disastrous conditions. 
The artwork and the video clip are made up from footage of “Shipbreakers”, people who dismantle huge container ships which end up mooring to die on Indian or Bangladeshi shores. HEROD create a strong musical and visual image of the abysses of the human consumption project, which turns out to be hell on earth for these people whose every day work involves constantly risking their lives to feed their families. And we’re all concerned.
The idea behind the lyrics is the acceptance of the situation, the confrontation of our denial and the quest of a certain « tragic wisdom » in order to find the light where it is.
While opening 35 shows for Carcass in 2015, we were delighted to see Sir William Steer playing every night. He’s such a inspiring and thrilling guitar player as well as an humble gentleman. During the recoding process we ask him to record a solo on « Fork Tongue » and we couldn’t believe he accepted.


Herod will also be touring Europe in March + April with The Ocean:

13/03 - DE, Stuttgart - Im Wizemann
14/03 - CH, Geneva - PTR/ L'Usine
15/03 - FR, Lyon - CCO
16/03 - FR, Toulouse - Rex
17/03 - FR, Marseilles - Les Pennes Mirabeau
18/03 - FR, Colmar - Le Grillen
19/03 - FR, Bethune - Le Poche
20/03 - UK, Birmingham - Mama Roux
21/03 - IR, Limerick - Dolan's Warehouse
22/03 - IR, Dublin - Voodoo Lounge
23/03 - UK, Glasgow - Audio
24/03 - UK, Leeds - Brudenell Social Club
25/03 - BE, Antwerp - Trix
26/03 - NL, Den Haag - Paard
27/03 - DE, Cologne - Club Volta
28/03 - DE, Leipzig - Werk 2
29/03 - PL, Poznan - U Bazyla
30/03 - DE, Bremen - Tower
31/03 - DE, Hamburg - Logo
02/04 - SE, Stockholm - Fryhuset, Klubben
03/04 - SE, Gothenburg - Tradgarn
06/04 - NO, Stavangar - Folken
07/04 - NO, Hamar - Gregers
08/04 - DK, Copenhagen - Vega

Band info: facebook