Shaman’s Harvest and Mascot Records have announced the global release of Red Hands Black Deeds on July 28th. 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.
Their Mascot Records debut, Smokin’ Hearts & Broken Guns in 2014, garnered more than 33 million streams. The album’s “In Chains” peaked at #11 on the Media Base chart after a run of 22 weeks at Active Rock radio. It also spent over four months in the Top 10 of iTunes Metal Songs Chart. The song’s video has more than 3 million views on YouTube, while the band has a cumulative 9 million YouTube views.
Shaman’s Harvest has had equal success on the touring front. They’ve toured or shared the stage with; AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Godsmack, Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Nickelback, Three Doors Down, In This Moment, Daughtry, Cheap Trick, Theory of a Deadman, Hinder, and others, and played major festivals like Rocklahoma, Rock on the Range, Rock Fest, KRockathon, Rockin’ The Rivers, Texas Mutiny, Rock Carnival 2016, High Elevation Rock Festival, and Midwest Rock Fest.
Tracklist:
1 Red Hands Black Deeds (Prelude)
2 Broken Ones
3 The Come Up
4 A Longer View
5 Soul Crusher
6 Off The Tracks
7 Long Way Home
8 The Devil In Our Wake
9 Blood Trophies
10 So Long
11 Tusk And Bone
12 Scavengers
CONFIRMED NORTH AMERICAN APPEARANCES INCLUDE:
03/06 Las Vegas, NV Scars and Stripes #
23/06 Noblesville, IN Klipsch Music Center
24/06 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Center
25/06 Battle Creek, MI The Music Factory +
27/06 Toronto, Ontario Budweiser Stage
29/06 Montreal, Quebec Bell Centre
30/06 Hartford, CT The Webster Theatre !
01/07 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theater
02/07 Holmdel, NJ ONC Bank Art Center
04/07 Virginia Beach, VA Veteran United Home Loans Amphitheater
06/07 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall
07/07 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
08/07 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
10/07 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
11/07 Syracuse, NY Lost Horizon +
12/07 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
13/07 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
15/07 Inwood, WV Shiley Acres
16/07 Mansfield, OH Ink in the Clink
18/07 Toledo, OH Frankies +
21/07 Omaha, NE Centurylink Center
22/07 Columbia, MO Rose Music Hall +
23/07 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
25/07 Maryland Heights, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
27/07 Oklahoma City, OK Thunder Alley +
28/07 The Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
29/07 Dallas, TX Starplex Pavilion
31/07 Pensacola, FL Vinyl Music Hall +
01/08 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
02/08 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
04/08 Camden, NJ BB&T Pavilion
05/08 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
07/08 Burgettstown, PA Keybank Pavilion
09/08 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
10/08 Fort Wayne, IN Rusty Spur +
11/08 Des Moines, IA Iowa State Fair
12/08 Chicago, IL Huntington Bank Pavilion @ Northerly Island
14/08 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
16/08 Spring Grove, IL KC’s Cabin +
17/08 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre +
18/08 Glen Flora, WI Northwoods Rock Rally #
24/08 Waterloo, IA Spicoli’s Grill +
26/08 Bismarck, ND Bismarck Event Center
27/08 Billings, MT MetraPark Rimrock Auto Arena
29/08 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena
30/08 Ridgefield, WA Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
31/08 Seattle, WA The Crocodile +
03/09 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
06/09 Wheatland, CA Toyota Amphitheatre
08/09 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
09/09 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
12/09 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
13/09 Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep +
14/09 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheatre
16/09 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
21/09 Winnipeg, Manitoba MTS Centre
23/09 Saskatoon, Alberta Sasktel Sports Centre
26/09 Calgary, Alberta Scotiabank Saddledome
28/09 Edmonton, Alberta Rogers Place
01/10 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
All dates unless otherwise noted with Nickelback
! – Direct Support For Fates Warning
+ – Headline Appearance
# – Festival Appearance
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