Ahead of their upcoming European tour in March, the Sardinian Heavy Psych/Blues quartet King Howl shared the video clip for “Tempted,” one of the songs from “Homecoming,” the band’s latest record released last summer via Electric Valley Records. The video clip is directed by Domenico Montixi.
In “Tempted,” the dichotomy between absolute Good and Evil is taken to extremes with irony and a touch of the grotesque. As a miniature work of vintage cinema, the video clip aims to summarize the atmosphere of 1980s ninja movie fights without directly quoting them but capturing their essence. For his “Tempted” joint, the director Domenico Montixi emphasized whimsical sets, practical effects, editing without CGI assistance, stunt doubles, and fight choreography.
Watch the official video through the YouTube player below:
King Howl will embark on a new concert campaign in early March 2024, with a schedule that will touch various venues in Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Germany, Belgium, and France.
Full Itinerary below:
06/03 – ST. GALLEN (CH) – RÜMPELTUM
07/03 – VIENNA (A) – COCO BAR
08/03 – BILINA (CZ) – MOSKVA
09/03 – ASENDORF (DE) – KULTURHAUS B.O.
10/03 – BERLIN (DE) – BLO-ATELIERS
12/03 – AACHEN (DE) – LOLAPAROLI
13/03 – LIÈGE (BE) – PÉNICHE LÉGIA
14/03 – COLOGNE (DE) – STEREO WONDERLAND
15/03 – FRESSELINES (FR) – LA P’ART-QUETERIE
16/03 – INS (CH) – SCHÜXENHAUS
Purchase the album on vinyl at Electric Valley Records’ Store HERE or at Bandcamp HERE
King Howl from Cagliari, Sardinia, plays Heavy Blues: the raw sounds of the Blues, filtered by a multitude of different musical influences coming from Stoner Rock, ’70s Classic Rock, Funk and Punk in a crossover labored with spontaneity and naturalness, a flow of sounds that never stops.
King Howl attracted conspicuous attention with their first full-length, “King Howl Quartet” (2012, Talk About Records/Go Down Records), which imposed a personal sound, pushed by singles like “Morning” and “Drunk.” In 2014, the four-track “Truck Stop Ep” (Talk About Records) brought new nuances to King Howl’s trademark, developing a more mature songwriting exposed in songs like “Kerouac” or “Time to Say Goodbye.” In July 2017, King Howl released their second full-length called “Rougarou.” This 10 tracks of Blues-fueled, booze-soaked Rock’n’Roll record is another proof of the band’s peculiar sound defined through years on the road, represented by bangers such as “Gone,” “Screaming” and “Demons.”
The band toured all of Italy and central Europe several times, often included in the bills of international festivals such as Pietrasonica Festival, Time in Jazz, Duna Jam, Maximum Festival, Crumble Fight Fest, Freiburg Fuzz Fest, Swanflight Festival, Narcao Blues and Aglientu Summer Blues; and opened (among others) for Mud Morganfield, Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man, Greenleaf, My Sleeping Karma, Siena Roo, and Bob Margolin.
King Howl’s new album, “Homecoming,” released on 09 June 2023 via Electric Valley Records, represents a new chapter in the band’s stylistic universe, spurring their trademark sound while mixing it with new compositional and sound influences. A mix of Blues, Stoner, Psychedelia and Classic Rock that paints the soundscape of an on-the-road story set in 1960s America, a narrative plot that permeates the entire work, accompanied by a constant sonic evolution, always on the road. Thus, King Howl returns to the theme of travel, the band’s favorite concept from the beginning.
“Homecoming” tells the story of a young protagonist who escapes from a rural setting and embarks on a journey that takes him on a train ride and encounters various challenges, including temptation and change. The theme of travel and change is a central focus of the album, with some tracks drawing inspiration from James Anderson‘s novel “The Never-Open Desert Diner.” The animal world is also a prominent symbol, represented on “The Great Blue Heron” by a powerful Hammond organ. The album’s epic journey concludes with the track “Home,” which represents an angry but hopeful homecoming and serves as an epic tale of growth, change, damnation, redemption, and rebirth. “Homecoming” also pays homage to the great Rolling Stones with the sixties classic “Gimme Shelter.”
The album was recorded in Sardinia by Roberto Macis and Willy Cuccu and mixed by Nene Baratto and Richard Behrens at Big Snuff Studio in Berlin, a key production hub for international Heavy Psych (Kadavar, Samsara Blues Experiment, Elder, Wucan). A sound production focused on an “organic” analog sound, thanks to the use of vintage gear and a reel-to-reel master made by Nene Baratto at the Berlin-based Morphine Raum Studio.
Lineup:
Diego Pani / Vocals, Harmonica
Marco Antagonista / Guitars
Alessandro Cau / Bass
Paolo Succu / Drums