Reviews
The big review: Damnation Festival 2024
What happened when Nails, Gatecreeper, Cradle Of Filth and a ton more brought the noise to Manchester for the biggest Damnation Festival yet.
In their new video, Iowan stoner metal trio Druids take you to a far-off world you might have seen on TV in a suburban basement.
Every stoner rock band should be able to laugh at themselves, but Druids have found a way to make not taking oneself too seriously an art form. The Des Moines, Iowa-based three-piece's music is certainly nothing to laugh at, with its acrobatic guitars, Circadian drumming, and powerdriven vocal harmonies. And yet at the same time, the band doesn't want to distance themselves from the sounds and trappings of the psychedelic rockers before them. That full-speed sonic approach and lack of ego result in an uproarious band that will please the shit out of fans tired of modern doom's artsier side.
The latest Druids video, New Breath, takes this concept and runs with it on a bunch of different levels. It stars the band as actors in a bad Star Trek-esque TV show being watched by a sleepy stoner...who then thrusts the band into an awesome dream version of the show that's both more awesome and somehow more cheesy than the one he was watching. Coupled with the band's new track, it's about as much fun -- and as stony -- as a music video can possibly get.
Describing the track, Druids vocalist/guitarist Luke Rauch says, "New Breath is about keeping balance when everything is speeding past you. The three of us keep very busy at home with our home life, jobs and other projects. Finding a balance can be tricky but it's essential. I came up with the idea for the video while listening to an early mix of the song on a walk. It came to me as an over the top, gory, sketch-comedy bit and evolved into what is now with the help of Bo at Transpiritus. I feel like the video captures the goofy side of our band while sticking with the adventurous/psychedelic vibe of the song."
Take a weird trip with Druids' New Breath below:
Check out the mind-warping cover of Druids' new album, Monument, below:
Monument comes out Friday, April 19th, via The Company, but is available for preorder.
Make sure to get your brain exercised by Druids at one of the following dates:
4/19 Kansas City, MO @ Union Library
4/20 Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
4/27 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge