BEASTWARS release fifth album single ‘We Light Fire’, (Originally performed by Julia Deans)
5th Studio Album Tyranny of Distance Out Friday, October 13
“When I first started hanging out in Wellington as a teenager, it felt like there were genuine rockstars in my midst. Acts like Shihad, Head Like a Hole, and Weta were prominent, but there was also Julia Deans from Fur Patrol, who rocked as hard as any of those guys. I’ve always loved her voice so when we were selecting songs for this album, I aimed to both recognize that era and pay homage to her. We Light Fire makes me imagine the soundtrack to a witches’ circle – dancing around the flame” – Nato
BEASTWARS
Tyranny of Distance
Tracklisting:
1. Identity – Originally performed by The Gordons
2. Waves – Originally performed by Superette
3. Emmanuelle – Originally performed by Snapper
4. Dark Child – Originally performed by Marlon Williams
5. Looking for the Sun – Originally performed by Children’s Hour
6. High and Lonely – Originally performed by Nadia Reid
7. We Light Fire – Originally performed by Julia Deans
8. Spooky – Originally performed by The 3Ds
Tyranny of Distance
The seed of Tyranny of Distance was first planted a few years back when Beastwars singer Matthew Hyde said that he loved the song ‘Dark Child’ by Marlon Williams and wanted to cover it. The band didn’t pursue this idea until 2022, when they were asked to contribute a song to a Soundgarden tribute album for an American label. Beastwars was on hiatus then and hadn’t been in the same room or played music together for over a year. Individually each band member was going through tough times, and the idea of finding the energy to create new original music together was unfathomable.
But the band quickly realised that playing music together was healing, cathartic and most important of all – fun. So the idea of covering Marlon Williams was resurrected and embellished, kicking off the formidable process of shortlisting songs, tracking down artists for their blessing, learning the inspiration behind the songs and, in one case, a hard-fought quest to uncover long-lost lyrics that were indecipherable on the original recording.
Panhead Custom Ales – known for their love of rock music, custom car culture, and long-standing history of supporting Beastwars – were pitched a simple idea “would you pay for the band to record some hot-rodded New Zealand songs?” The answer is Tyranny of Distance.
The recording process took place over nine months. It was overseen by Beastwars drummer Nathan Hickey and longtime collaborator James Goldsmith, who co-produced the previous two Beastwars albums with the final heftiness added by mastering engineer Will Borza (Deftones, ZZ Top).
Christian Pearce, who also plays in Beastwars side projects End Boss and Putrid Future, will join the band on guitar duties while original member Clayton Anderson takes a break from live performances.
Obey the Riff, Long Live the Beast.
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