Premiere: KIND ‘Close Encounters’ – New Album Releases This Friday, 11th July, via Ripple Music
Boston, MA based heavy rockers KIND are gearing up to release their new album Close Encounters, their third long-player (hence the album’s title?) through the staple that is Ripple Music this Friday, 11th July. And today, The Shaman is chuffed to be able to bring you this nine-track slab of grunge tinged stoner rock in its entirety.
About the album, Rob Walsh in his review said, ‘a pedal-to-the-metal rocker that reminds me of the Swedish variety of stoner bands like Truckfighters and Lowrider’ and concludes with, ‘The band’s individual talents are put to fine use and the songs are played with conviction.’
As for the band, bassist Tom Corino says, ‘KIND has always been a band that evolves without losing our main focus and I think that’s no different on this record. Darryl (guitar) came in with his most stylistically diverse set of ideas yet. From there we as a band were able to create a really focused approach and, in my opinion, outshine our previous effort the same way we did last time around.’
Then about recording the album, he adds, ‘Working with Alec Rodriguez was, as it always is, easy and focused. He’s able to get the best performances out of us and was able to capture a massive sound from our band.’
Now click play below to witness a close encounter of the third kind…
More On KIND & ‘Close Encounters’
Featuring members Matt Couto (ex-Elder), Tom Corino (ex-Rozamov), Craig Riggs (Roadsaw) and Darryl Shepard (ex-Black Pyramid), KIND formed in 2013 and released their debut album Rocket Science on Ripple Music in the waning days of 2015. That album garnered favorable reviews across the board, including from Metal Hammer who stated that it built up ‘an atmosphere that’ll sound awesome played live’. That was proven by a West Coast tour KIND undertook with Ripple Music labelmates Salem’s Bend and a live appearance at Desertfest London in 2018, as well as many shows throughout the Northeastern U.S.
KIND released their sophomore album Mental Nudge in the fall of 2020 through Ripple Music (USA) and Kozmik Artifactz (Europe). Recorded at Mad Oak Studios, Mental Nudge stays true to their sound while expanding their sonic palette, offering seven songs that cover a broad aural spectrum from the indie-rock influenced Helms, the full-on doom of Trigger Happy to the rock bombast of Broken Tweaker. The result is a wall of sound that shows the talent and experience these musicians continue to bring to the form.
KIND never stray from their mission, which is to write and perform top-shelf heavy rock. Mental Nudge ended up on several year-end best-of lists and topped the Doom Charts in September of 2020. Their third album Close Encounters ups the ante in several ways, showing the versatility of these four seasoned musicians who have performed with KIND and previous bands at festivals such as Roadburn, Hellfest, Desertfest and many more.
But as the saying goes, ‘writing about music is like dancing about architecture’. The best thing to do is to throw on a copy of Close Encounters and turn the volume up. Once again, the band recorded with engineer Alec Rodriguez at Mad Oak Studios, and the eye-catching cover art was created by renowned artist Alexander Von Wieding in his lair in Germany.
Close Encounters Tracklist:
01. Burn Scar
02. Favorite One
03. Black Yesterday
04. Snag
05. Massive
06. Power Grab
07. Of the Ages
08. What It Is to Be Free
09. Pacino
KIND is:
Craig Riggs – Vocals
Darryl Shepard – Guitar
Matthew Couto – Drums
Tom Corino – Bass
Close Encounters, the latest album from Boston heavy rockers KIND releases this Friday, 11th August through Ripple Music that can be ordered on vinyl, compact disc and digital download over on Bandcamp.
Label: Ripple Music
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
