Shaman’s Harvest and Mascot Records have announced the global release of Red Hands Black Deeds on Friday 28th July 2017. Produced by Keith Armstrong, the new album took on a more organic approach, utilizing vintage gear.

Singer Nathan Hunt offers, “We used analog effects pedals and vintage amps. It was kind of like trying to find the melting point between Midwest and L.A. It still has the Shaman’s Harvest Midwest vibe to it, but it definitely has organic L.A. written all over it.” Guitarist Josh Hamler adds, “Goat toes are the new cowbells. We’d tell Keith we wanted a certain sound, and he’d pull stuff out that we never thought of, like the goat toes we used on “Blood Trophies” and “A Longer View” or sandpaper on ‘Scavengers’.”

The band – singer Nathan Hunt, bassist Matt Fisher, rhythm guitarist Josh Hamler, lead guitarist Derrick Shipp, and drummer Adam Zemanek – simply didn’t want to use anything digital, and when a certain effect was needed they approached the process creatively, coming up with solutions to reach a realized vision. As Hamler shares, “We had been so stuck in our way of writing and recording, but Keith had a different, more interesting approach to coming up with that sound. He really helped us find a fresh new creative path.”

Red Hands Black Deeds is a darker, visceral, and more layered sound than past repertoire. The album ranges from the ominous, haunting vibes of the title track prelude, “A Longer View,” “The Devil In Our Wake,” and “Scavengers” – which could fit just as easily on a horror film soundtrack as it does on this rock band’s album – to quieter, more vulnerable moments as heard on “Tusk and Bone” and “Long Way Home.” Lyrically, the band also ventured into new territory, taking on the current political, social, and economic struggles the USA is facing as a nation under the new administration. “Red Hands Black Deeds touches upon the darker nature inside all of us,” says Hunt. “The whole record has a contrast and push and pull tension – a juxtaposition of good and bad or questioning what is right and wrong. The record ended up having a concept, though we weren’t intending it to,” says Hunt.

The writing of the record began in November 2016 at the time of the US presidential election, so it’s no wonder there are social and political undertones to many of the songs. “The tension in the record kind of speaks for itself. There’s a dark anxiety, tension-filled feeling that reflects what’s going on in the world,” says Hamler.

“The Come Up,” the album’s first single, is an upbeat song that juxtaposes a Motown backbeat with classic Rolling Stones rock and roll swagger, and that delves into depression. “There’s so much negativity on social media today ‑ a lot of people struggling with real issues and with where we’re at as a nation,” says Hunt. It is also an acknowledgment of the singer’s own battle with depression. “It’s therapeutic for myself,” he says. “It’s just about sometimes when you just can’t change shit, you got to realize you can’t mould everything in your life and you kind of just have to roll with the punches,” says Hunt, who overcame throat cancer in 2014 that could’ve derailed the band, but didn’t.

Listen to ‘Broken Ones’ below:

“Matt Fisher’s groovy eerie bass opens ‘Broken Ones’ and makes you wonder “What is coming next? A funk track, a delta blues number or an inaudible growly man singing about devil spawn and sacrifice?” Well actually none of the above. What you do hear however are the clear lead vocals of Nathan Hunt singing semi-aggressive lyrics and the intricate guitar sound by both Derrick Shipp and Josh Hamler. Adam Zemanek’s drums are loud and well-suited to the song as Shaman’s Harvest creates pure solid rock. With shows in the US with Nickleback scheduled for this year, this band’s fanbase looks set to increase.” – Glenn Sargeant Just Listen To This

Glenn Sargeant

(Thanks Lee)