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| HIGH SPIRITS - 2013 MLP | |
HRR 295, ltd 500, 250 x solid yellow + 250 x black vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, uv spot | |
| - One Last Chance - Be My Shelter - Full Power - If I'm Gone - When The Lights Go Down - Midnight Sun | |
SOLD OUT! | |
High Spirits are one of the hottest new American Metal bands – no doubt about that. For their fans they now have a very special treat, a limited edition vinyl-only mini-album exclusively distributed through High Roller Records. “That’s exactly right!,” says Chris ('The Professor') Black. “We wanted to have some new music released for 'Keep It True' (and the mini-tour leading to it), but there was simply not enough time for a new studio album. So instead, we are offering this new demo compilation. It is enough to satisfy us for a little while, and I hope the fans will agree. Sometime in March 2013 it will be made available via Bandcamp on a donation basis, with any proceeds helping to pay for the ground expenses in Europe. People will be able to download it and then burn a CD, load the songs into a digital player, whatever they like ... The vinyl release, however, is a strictly limited edition, but the music itself is totally unlimited!”
The mentioned 2013 mini-album will contain the following songs: "One Last Chance", "Be My Shelter", "Full Power", "If I'm Gone", When The Lights Go Down" and "Midnight Sun". Chris comments: “Well, the listener may notice the first few songs are from the more atmospheric and melancholy side of High Spirits. 2012 was a year of challenge and heartbreak for many people close to us and for many people around the world, and it was inspiring to see them answer with courage and perseverance! And that’s where side B comes in! The lights are low, the ghosts keep coming, and we enter the future together.”
The song "Full Power" has been on »Another Night« already. This is what Chris has to say: “Actually, that’s the only older recording. We are well aware that this is one of our more popular songs, so maybe the fans will enjoy hearing it in a more raw form. But if you take away 'Full Power', the songs are in chronological order, from August 2012 to January 2013.”
High Spirits played the Rock Hard festival last year and according to Chris they had a blast: “It was great! An incredible opportunity that came by surprise! On the same trip we also played two club gigs in Germany and the Muskelrock festival in Sweden, moving around in subways, vans, trains, and airplanes with only backpacks, guitars, a suitcase full of LPs, and a massive box of T-shirts! We are excited to come back in April of 2013 and travel by van the whole time. It will be more familiar and slightly less chaotic. But hopefully it’s just as much fun! The hospitality was outstanding everywhere, with lots of friends looking after us. Nothing went wrong until we tried to come home, ha ha ha!”
»Another Night« received some great reviews in the European press, especailly in Germany. Chris Black did not expect that: “The demos LP of 2009 got such a reaction itself that I expected the studio album would be too polished and commercial for a lot of people. The »2013« release is essentially another demos collection. These songs were not created to sit together on an album. It was a way to explore and test some different ideas. This is why bands make demos, after all. It’s also extremely fun! Whether the next album will continue in any particular direction, whether it will include some of these songs, I couldn’t say! There is a diversity to High Spirits that can be hard to notice, even for me, so really anything is possible! ”
High Roller Records' release number 300 is approaching fast, to be honest, my personal opinion is that High Spirits is the band on High Roller with the biggest potential to grow. Probably even outgrowing underground status in the long run … “That is very kind of you to say,” replies Chris. “High Roller has been extremely supportive of the band from the start. That goes for financial support of course, but also creative support in the sense that there is a complete artistic trust and freedom, they are very open to our ideas, our pacing, and so on. I would add that the Rock Hard appearance is the kind of thing that can help propel a band out of the underground as well, and the support from those kinds of quarters. I myself have no idea! It’s been an incredible ride with a lot of surprises already!”
“High Spirits has never been merely a hobby for us,” adds Chris. “Even when it might have the appearances of one, the goal was always for it to be a profession and a lifestyle. That is speaking for myself. My friends in High Spirits are extremely committed to music in their own lives, and I have to think that all of them would say that it’s more than a hobby. Not to say it isn’t also fun. Of course it is! Anyway, I have always taken music seriously as a profession, but there are certain things I am not willing to sacrifice, such as the freedoms I mentioned that come from being on an independent record label, owning my copyrights, doing my own merchandise, setting my own schedule, and doing that all in collaboration with friends and remaining dedicated to my family at home. I work for and welcome whatever success is possible on those terms ...”
Matthias Mader