Monotreme Records: Stinking Lizaveta

PHILLY ROCK TRIO STILL BANGING HEADS TOGETHER: Stinking Liz Return with Sixth Disc

Release date: 16th February (Europe - Monotreme) [US release: 31 March on At A Loss]

One of America's most durable and powerful rock bands is back with its sixth album. Stinking Lizaveta's "Sacrifice and Bliss" is the latest from the instrumental trio specializing in what one reviewer calls "insane improvisations, relentless rhythms and volumes of groove." If you're tired of the stale sludge that passes for modern metal, the sparkling crunch of Stinking Liz's latest will restore your faith in rock and roll.

"How do we tell stories without words?" asks Stinking Liz drummer Cheshire Agusta. "Compelling melody. Hypnotizing rhythm. Passion and detail." This is the mission underlying "Sacrifice and Bliss," which features ten original tunes, including " A Day Without a Murder", which first employs a floating 10 to disorient, then proceeds to thrash rock from a stone, and "The Man Needs Your Pain", a wide swinging ballad that leaves plenty of space for all three players to weigh in.

Just as all great jazz ensembles carry the time without any one musician stating it, Stinking Liz carries the narrative between them. And as everyone knows, the deepest and ultimately most satisfying story is the unvarnished truth - joy, struggle, head banging bliss: "Sacrifice and Bliss". That's how Stinking Liz tells it.

The LA Times has hailed the veteran rockers as "both polished and unruly," and "Sacrifice and Bliss" excels on both counts with crisp production, massive beats, and dazzling fretwork. Like crazed Russian composer Alexander Scriabin artfully deconstructing and reconstructing melody, guitarist Yanni Papadopoulos' squealing, singing lines soar above brother Alexi's churning electric upright bass. Drummer Agusta holds it all together with a pounding that's one part Elvin Jones and another part John Bonham. Mixed with the masterful production of Sanford Parker (Pelican, Rwake, Nachtmystium), "Sacrifice and Bliss" shows a heavy rock trio at its absolute best.

Born in the basements of West Philadelphia and tempered by fifteen years of American and European tours, Stinking Liz has built a reputation as one of progressive metal's most unique and captivating live acts. "Sacrifice and Bliss" captures that power. Real rock and roll is not a video game. Real rock and roll is not the latest pass at this year's formula. Real rock and roll is Stinking Lizaveta.

The band will tour Europe in March/April 2009. See the tour dates page for more info.

UK: press by Exile PR: (elenajane@mainstreamrecords.de)
Germany/Austria/Switzerland: press by Southern Germany: (andreas@southernrecords.de)
France / Italy: press by 5iveroses Press: (press@fiverosespress.net)

After three album releases and over a dozen years of touring around the country blitzing audiences with their famously dynamic live shows, Philadelphia instrumental power trio Stinking Lizaveta (named for a Dostoevsky character) has become an institution of sorts in the US underground music scene. Their eclectic style of music incorporates post-rock, metal, sludge, prog’, stoner and doom with jazz stylings and eastern influences. RockDetector's book, 'History of Stoner, Goth, and Doom', categorises their music as 'doom-jazz', a label that the band have taken to citing when asked to describe their music.

Stinking Lizaveta's numerous fans include Steve Albini, who recorded and mixed their debut album, ‘…hopelessness and Shame’, in his basement back in 1996. Their first three albums were released on the now-defunct Tolotta label (Spirit Caravan, The Obsessed, Dead Meadow, Othrelm) run by Fugazi bass player Joe Lally. An invitation from Steve Albini brought the band their European debut performance at the UK All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in March 2004, where they played a storming set that created a sizeable stampede to their merch table.

The trio comprises brothers Yanni and Alexi Papadopoulos on guitar and electric upright bass and Cheshire Agusta on drums. Yanni elicits an impressive range of sounds from his electric guitar, from heavy Sabbath-y riffs to graceful winding melodies, with periodic departures into stoner groove territory. He also provides the only ‘vocals’ on the album by singing/screaming into the pickups of his guitar to create an eerie howling noise. Alexi also gives his electric bass a versatile workout, using fingers, bow and effects pedals to create an array of different sounds and moods – from the heavy doom of ‘Side Naked’ to the light jazziness of ‘Someone’s Downstairs’. All of this is underpinned by the inventive drumming of Cheshire Agusta, who combines ‘pile-driven polyrhythms’, dextrous cymbal work and complex fills to keep things varied and exciting.

For more information about the band, please visit their website.