AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: INTO THE STORM — “I GOTTA GET THE BEES OUT OF MY TEETH”

 

There’s no questioning the fact that Seattle’s Into the Storm have a sense of humor. That’s evident in the play on words that stands as the title of their new album, Where the Merfalo Roam, as well as in some of their song titles, including the one we’re premiering today — “I Gotta Get the Bees Outta My Teeth“. The batshit-crazy video accompanying the song is damned funny, too — in a very strange and somewhat stomach-turning way.

But this is one of those instances when you shouldn’t leap to the conclusion that the music is some kind of goof, just because the band wear their sense of humor on their sleeves. If you do that, you’ll be in for a jarring surprise.

 

Photo by Ken Lapworth

The release date for Where the Merfalo Roam (via Alive and Breathing Records) is a long way off. We assume (and hope) that this new song is but the first of a series that will be revealed between now and then. Because this is the first, it’s worth sharing the band’s comments about the album, and that title in particular:

“We are super excited to release this album as it captures the most accurate representation of seeing us play live we have ever recorded. The concept behind Where the Merfalo Roam is a journey through discontent, oppressive governments, dystopian eras, and the connection between the cycles societies go through.

“The artwork depicts the mouth of a giant mythical creature that devours chunks of societies with bits of them still stuck against it’s teeth and the creatures that are still feasting upon them.

“Where the Merfalo Roam is a call to a bygone era where great waters covered much of the open the plains and large aquatic mammals grazed, Merfalo. You can still see evidence of this time in the derelict buildings scattered beside the highways of America.”

To repeat, though you may be inclined to smile at the highly caffeinated video, the song is a hammer to the head. It begins in a rush, but soon settles into the slower tempo of crushing bulldozer, with sludgy skull-fracturing riffs and discordant lead guitar machinations that do sound like a buzzing hive of disturbed bees, accompanied by vocals that resemble the sound of a furious man clawing his own throat apart.

(If you want a sense of what the rest of the album holds in store, check out our friend Durf’s vivid review over at Brutalitopia.)

 

Vocalist/guitarist Matt Jahn directed, wrote, and produced the video, and Patrick Meehan was the director of photography. The artwork for Where the Merfalo Roam was also created by Matt Jahn. And here’s a statement about the video from the band:

“In an attempt to capture an artist in their natural habitat “I Gotta Get The Bees Outta My Teeth” was filmed in real time, on location, documenting our artist/layout designer’s life while working to complete the digital package of art for Where The Merfalo Roam.”

 

The album includes guest violin performances by Kim Pack and Sarah Pendleton of SubRosa on the title track, a trumpet performance by Alexis Tahiri in the first half of “Maturin”, and some honky-tonk, chicken pickin’ in “Truck Van Trailer”. Here’s the full track list:

1. Truck Van Trailer
2. Ghostmaker
3. Seduced and Disappointed
4. I Gotta Get the Bees Outta My Teeth
5. Wellwisher
6. Maturin
7. Maths
8. Fell Off A Horse
9. Jobbernaught
10. Where the Merfalo Roam

As mentioned, the album is due for release on November 11, 2016, on vinyl, CD, and digital via Alive and Breathing Records. You can pre-order it here:

http://rideintothestorm.com

https://intothestorm.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-merfalo-roam

http://www.facebook.com/rideintothestorm