Dallas psychedelic doom blues legends WO FAT share the third track taken from their upcoming new album ‘The Singularity’, due out May 6th on Ripple Music. Enjoy the sheer power and fuzzed-out effervescence of “The Snows of Banquo IV” now!
“A densely-packed odyssey that illustrates its sci-fi settings with endlessly compelling songwriting and far-out atmosphere.” — Invisible Oranges
WO FAT return with their seventh album, a record they feel is their most adventurous and exploratory yet! With themes relating to the battle for the future of our planet and civilization, its title ‘The Singularity’ refers to an environmental tipping point beyond which irreversible climate destruction is inevitable, as well as a point in the evolution of A.I. and machine learning after which everything goes beyond control, potentially leading to mankind’s destruction. Apocalyptic and sci-fi-based ideas serve as metaphors for the struggle for truth and reality in the face of disinformation, manufactured facts and cultic thinking.
Frontman Kent Stump about the song’s story: “The Snows of Banquo IV was one of the last songs written and recorded for the new album and is one of my favorites on the record. A friend of mine is one of the creators of sci-fi horror RPG Mothership and he reached out to me about a new game module and wanted Wo Fat to contribute a song. Sci-fi horror, as you might expect, is right up my alley, so I was on board immediately! I used the storyline as an inspiration and lyrical theme. In writing the song, the concept for the game along with things going on around us in the real world, led to the song being about larger ideas regarding the power of words and language and how they can be used to twist reality and manipulate people into doing unthinkable things. Now crank up the volume!”
‘The Singularity’ ventures outside WO FAT‘s well-establish blues-based paradigm, keeping all the heaviness but also tapping into some 70’s fusion influences and showcasing Kent Stump’s sharpest and most focused vocals and production to date. With stunning art from Eli Quinn, it marks a perfect return from one of the most iconic bands in heavy rock history! Listen to previous singles “The Witching Chamber” and “Orphans Of The Singe“.
After over 16 years of slinging their Texas-sized psychedelic blues doom,
WO FAT is going stronger and rocking harder than ever, as they continue their swampadelic vision quest of overdriven, fuzz-laden riffage and jazz-minded jam explorations, and with six studio albums, a live album, and a couple splits under their belt, Wo Fat has gained a reputation as one of the premier US Stoner Metal bands. Starting with ‘The Gathering Dark’ in 2006, they have stayed true to the deep, dark blues that wails from within and have forged their riffs with a primal grooviness, giving them a consistency of style, even while they have progressed and matured as a band, with their musical forays getting heavier but also trippier at times.
2009’s ‘Psychedelonaut’ really began to solidify the WO FAT name, garnering them wider critical recognition, leading to releases with Nasoni and Totem Cat Records and then on to their two most critically acclaimed releases to date: ‘The Black Code’ (2013) and ‘The Conjuring’ (2014) on Small Stone Records, with ‘The Conjuring’ landing on NPR’s “Top Ten Metal Albums of 2014” among numerous other best-of lists. During these last few years, Wo Fat have made appearances in a number of iconic festivals in Europe and the US, Wo Fat teamed up with Ripple Records to release ‘Midnight Cometh’, a slab of riffage that is possibly their most daring psychotropic exploration of heaviness to date.
With voodoo drums beating and molten blues-tempered waves of guitar riffery, they are carrying on the WO FAT tradition of keeping things heavy and fuzzy, but also groovy, which, all too often, is a missing element in much modern heavy music. You can hear the echoes of field hollers and that oft-forgotten “way back yonder funk” that fuels the fire that burns deep in the swamp at the witching hour. You can feel the rush of living on the edge and glimpse a phantasmal Coltrane in your peripheral vision as they careen through improvisational jams. And all this with an unrelenting metal heaviness underscoring apocalyptic lyrics that conjure visions of the end of an age, and black midnight bargains and the consequences reap. While Wo Fat may be speaking a familiar language to the apostles of the riff, there isn’t anyone that sounds quite like them. WO FAT recently welcomed guitarist Matt Watkins and bassist Patrick Smith to their lineup, following the departure of their long-time friend and bass player Zack Busby.
