Long Island doom/sludge trio, Restless Spirit, have announced the upcoming release of a digital live EP entitled The Doomed and the Dead … Live. The record is set to be released on October 2, 2024, via Magnetic Eye Records, and was recorded at the RPM Fest, Massachusetts, September 2023. In advance, they haved served up the digital single, “Lord of the New Depression (Live at RPM Fest).” Check it out below and read more from Restless Spirit.
Stream “’Lord of the New Depression (Live at RPM Fest)” and pre-order The Doomed and the Dead … Live here: http://lnk.spkr.media/restless-spirit-live
“The track “Lord of the New Depression” has been a staple in our set since our second EP, which turned releasing it on our first ever official live recording into a no-brainer,” singer and guitarist Paul Aloisio writes. “It’s one of the shorter songs in our discography but still contains all the hallmarks of our sound, which makes it both a nod to our longtime supporters and an introduction for those just getting into us that have not yet discovered our earlier works. After hearing the live recordings from RPM Fest in Massachusetts last September, we figured that it was time to release something that showcases our live sound. It was an awesome event all around with a great community taking part, and we were more than happy to be there and have our performance captured.”
The Doomed and the Dead … Live tracklisting:
01 Judgement and Exile
02 All Furies
03 Cascade Immolator
04 Lord of the New Depression
05 From the Dust Returned
On top of this revelation, Restless Spirit will be joining The Obsessed as the direct support on all dates of their 30th Anniversary of The Church Within tour in the US this October. Please see below for all confirmed dates.
Restless Spirt with The Obsessed (30th Anniversary of The Church Within US tour):
October
02 New Kensington, PA (US) Preserving Underground
03 Cleveland, OH (US) The Winchester
04 Detroit, MI (US) Sanctuary
05 Chicago, IL (US) Reggies, Music Joint
07 Kansas City, MO (US) MiniBar
08 Oklahoma City, OK (US) 89th Street
09 Denton, TX (US) Andy’s
10 Austin, TX (US) The Lost Well
11 Houston, TX (US) Black Magic Social Club
12 New Orleans, LA (US) Siberia
14 Orlando, FL (US) The Conduit
15 Atlanta, GA (US) The Earl
16 Raleigh, NC (US) Kings
17 Richmond, VA (US) Cobra Cabana
18 Baltimore, MD (US) The Ottobar
19 Brooklyn, NY (US) Union Pool
20 Cambridge, MA (US) Middle East, Upstairs
Restless Spirit will be touring in support of their latest album Afterimage. The band name says it all, and this album, their third, embodies the East Coast trio’s aim of never wanting to sound exactly like before. Long Island deep-fried guitars meet pounding rhythms and emotionally raw vocals. Where the predecessor, Blood of the Old Gods (2021), sometimes ushered the listener into twisted complexity, Afterimage delivers short, sharp shocks that hit straight home.
Lyrically, Afterimage is also born out of a restless spirit. Driven by tragedy and personal loss, singer and guitarist Paul Aloisio has put his heart and soul into the album. Confronted with a choice to deal with his pain in a healthy way or go down a destructive path, the singer and guitarist opted for the former but months later found his words to be prophetic for doing the latter. Deciding that artistry requires honesty, Alosio wanted to share his experience as a message to others in similar situations that they’re not alone in their despair. Afterimage might well be read as a cautionary tale.
Embarking on their musical journey very early in life, the band’s core of Aloisio and bassist Marc Morello met the summer before Kindergarten and grew up discovering music side by side. Channelling influences like Black Sabbath, Type O Negative, and The Sword and incorporating aggressive modern metal, unabashed stoner-doom pummelling, energetic changes, and stirring, earnest vocals, their band was finally christened Restless Spirit in 2019. Their debut full-length Lord of the New Depression (2019) fit equally well into the stoner, doom, and sludge molds, while on Blood of the Old Gods, the three-piece developed a more varied, melodic approach with added complexity.
Discontent at being sometimes labelled ‘progressive,’ Restless Spirit, true contrarians that they are, avoided overly-long songs and excessive ornamentation on Afterimage, intentionally eliminating anything that might distract from the new album’s direct, crushing immediacy. On the live front, the Long Island band has undertaken several tours in support of Blood of the Old Gods and shared stages with the likes of Crowbar, The Obsessed and Cannibal Corpse. They will return to the road in winter 2023/24 to present Afterimage.
With Afterimage, Restless Spirit deliver a massive punch to the gut that actually feels damn great once the initial pain subsides. Featuring guest musicians Scott “Wino” Weinrich (guitars on “The Fatalist”) and Mike Hill (vocals on “Shadow Command”), it was recorded by John Forrestal at The Animal Farm, Flemington, NJ, with mix & mastering by Jonathan Nuñez at Sound Artillery Studios, Miami, FL. Cover art was provided by Luca “Solomacello” Martinelli and layout by Marc Christoforidis. Afterimage is available on vinyl LP, and as a Digisleeve CD here: http://lnk.spkr.media/afterimage
Line-up
Paul Aloisio – Guitar, vocals
Jon Gusman – Drums
Marc Morello – Bass
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