JUCIFER: NEW VIDEO, NEW SONG, NEW ALBUM

I’ve heard a lot of thoroughly pulverizing metal performed live, but I’ve yet to hear any band who are more gut-liquifying than Jucifer. In the one and only time I’ve managed to catch them live (despite the fact that they’ve been touring non-stop for almost two decades), my jaw hung open the entire set, even while mercilessly headbanging. I was too stunned to close it, not only because the decibels were threatening to un-do the structural integrity of my body but also because the husband-and-wife duo of Gazelle Amber Valentine and Edgar Livengood were so riveting to watch.

On July 17, Jucifer will be officially releasing their new album, with the Cyrillic title of за волгой для нас земли нет. It means “There is no land beyond the Volga”, though people are already just calling it “The Russian Album”. Inspired by the time Jucifer have spent in Russia as well as their longstanding interest in Russian history, it’s described as “a concept album dedicated to the people, events and geography of Volgograd – more famously known as Stalingrad”.

As noted, the new album will be released on July 17 in a limited edition 6-panel digipak, and digitally via Nomadic Fortress (Jucifer’s own imprint) and Mutants of the Monster – the label run by C.T. Farris of Rwake, and David Hall of Handshake Inc.  A vinyl version of the record, and North American retail CDs, will become available in October.

And now to the three main draws of this post. First, NPR has created a killing video of Jucifer laying waste to a D.C. venue in January with a medley consisting of “Throned In Blood” (from the album of the same name) bookended by two songs from the new album — “Pavlov’s House” and “Shame”. It’s really superb, and provides as good a sense as you’ll get of what it’s like to be confronted by Thee White Wall without experiencing it in the flesh.

Second, David Hall has created a cool teaser clip for The Russian Album, which you’ll see just below the NPR vid.

And third, thanks to an Invisible Oranges premiere, you’ll get the chance to hear the full version of “Shame” from the new album. You should check out that Invisible Oranges link, even though the track is included in this post, because it includes some fantastic Fred Pessaro photos of the band performing in Brooklyn on July 11 (including the one you saw at the top of this post).

UPDATE: Instead of listening to just one song, stream the whole album below, because it’s now up on Bandcamp (thank you Justin C).

All of these items are tastes of something that looms like a monolith. I’ve only just started making my way through this long album (it lasts roughly 1 hour 20 minutes), but what I’ve heard so far is incredibly powerful, massively heavy, body-moving, and emotionally intense. Sludge/doom/death of a very high order.

Watch and listen below.

http://www.jucifer.net/
https://www.facebook.com/juciferofficial
http://jucifer-official.bandcamp.com/#

 

 

 

 

Now, remember what I said about non-stop touring? Well, here are Jucifer’s scheduled dates (all in Europe) for just the next four months.

8/21/13 YEKATERINBURG, RU @ DABAR
8/22/13 PERM, RU @ CUSTOM HOUSE
8/24/13 MOSCOW, RU @ MOSCOW HALL (W/GODFLESH)
8/26/13 SAINT PETERSBURG, RU @ ARTICA
8/28/13 KORTRIJK, BE @ THE PIT’S
8/29/13 PARIS, FR @ GLAZART
8/30/13 NANTES, FR @ LE FERRAILLEUR
8/31/13 SAN SEBASTIEN, ES @ TBA
9/1/13 GIJON, ES @ TBA
9/2/13 LEON, ES @ TBA
9/3/13 MADRID, ES @ TBA
9/5/13 LISBOA, PT @ TBA
9/6/13 BARCELOS, PT @ TBA
9/7/13 A CORUNA, ES @ TBA
9/8/13 BILBAO, ES @ TBA
9/9/13 BORDEAUX, FR @ HERETIC CLUB
9/10/13 TOULOUSE, FR @ SAINT DES SEINS
9/11/13 CLERMONT-FERRAND, FR @ BAR RAYMOND
9/12/13 MONTPELLIER, FR @ BLACK SHEEP
9/13/13 TORINO, IT @ UNITED CLUB
9/14/13 MILANO, IT @ TBA
9/15/13 ROMA, IT @ INIT
9/16/13 CALENZANO, IT @ ASD FACTORY
9/17/13 MILANO, IT @ TBA
9/18/13 LAUSANNE, CH @ ESPACE AUTOGERE
9/19/13 LUZERN, CH @ BRUCH-BROTHERS
9/20/13 BASIL, DE @ HIRSCHENECK
9/21/13 WEIKERSHEIM, DE @ CLUB W71
9/22/13 GERMANY TBA
9/23/13 BERLIN, DE @ BERGHAIN KANTIN
9/24/13 KIEL, DK @ ALTE MEIEREI
9/25/13 COPENHAGEN, DK @ KB18
9/26/13 MALMO, SWE @ INKONST
9/27/13 NORWAY TBA
9/28/13 STAVANGER, NO @ CHECKPOINT CHARLIE
9/29/13 OSLO, NO @ JOHN DEE
9/30/13 STOCKHOLM, SWE @ TBA
10/2/13 JYVASKYLA, FI @ LUTAKKO
10/3/13 HELSINKI, FI @ LUUDES KINJA
10/4/13 TALLINN, EE @ SNAKE HOUSE
10/5/13 RIGA, LV @ TBA
10/8/13 GDYNIA, PL @ DESDEMONA CLUB
10/9/13 POLAND TBA
10/10/13 POLAND TBA
10/11/13 OSTRAVA, CZ @ PLAN B HARDCORE CLUB
10/12/13 LEIPZIG, DE @ MANFRED
10/13/13 PRAGUE, CZ @ KLUB 007
10/14/13 BRNO, CZ @ KLUB BRNO
10/15/13 BRATISLAVA, HU @ FUGA
10/16/13 BUDAPEST, HU @ DURER KERT
10/17/13 CROATIA TBA
10/18/13 ILIRSKA BISTRICA, SI @ MKNZ
10/19/13 LJUBLJANA, SI @ GROMKA KLUB
10/20/13 CROATIA TBA
10/21/13 CROATIA TBA
10/22/13 ZAGREB, CR @ TBA
10/23/13 GRAZ, AT @ TBA
10/24/13 WIEN, AT @ TBA
10/25/13 AUSTRIA / GERMANY TBA
10/26/13 WINTERTHUR, CH @ GASWERK!
10/27/13 STRASBOURG / BESANCON / FREIBURG TBA
10/28/13 DIJON, FR @ DEEP INSIDE
10/29/13 LIEGE, BE @ LA ZONE
10/30/13 MULHEIM, DE @ AZ
10/31/13 AMSTERDAM, NL @ WINSTON
11/1/13 UTRECHT, NL @ DB’S
11/2/13 MARBEHAN, BE @ FUZZFEST
11/3/13 LILLE, FR @ TBA
11/4/13 REIMS, FR @ TBA
11/5/13 KOLN, DE @ SONIC BALLROOM
11/6/13 TILBURG, NL @ LITTLE DEVIL
11/7/13 BRUSSELS, BE @ MAGASIN 4
11/8/13 ATHENS, GR @ SIX D.O.G.S
11/9/13 THESSALONIKI, GR @ EIGHTBALL CLUB