DZ Deathrays mark ten years of Black Rat LP with national anniversary tour this June – July and vinyl re-release
PRAISE FOR DZ Deathrays
“Feature Album”
“The band’s musicality has taken a colossal advancing lunge; Parsons’ vocal range has developed to incorporate throat lacerating howls and sweet coos, whilst the spewing riffs from his guitar have been supersized for LP2. Ridley’s drumming is more adventurous, taking on wild patterns and the kind of tub-thumping associated with Dave Grohl or a rock music obsessed octopus.”
“The Aussie hellraisers find new ways to party on the follow-up to 'Bloodstreams'”
“Near 40 minutes of slow and sweaty seduction executed exquisitely by weeping guitar”
“Another house-party-in-an-album reeking of sweat-drenched, hormone-soaked abandon… The thrash-pop duo have an instinctive sense of balance though: mostly hinging on their ability to follow a vicious kick to the teeth with a devilishly catchy pop hook”
“The sound of a confident band torn between its populist, party-friendly beginnings and a new-found ability to embrace glimpses of beauty amid the sonic destruction.”
“Their gloriously off-kilter approach is compelling and then some”
“it builds on their first album in all the right ways: more earworms, less clutter, everything polished with just a little blood in the spit”
“With brutal riffs cribbed from metal, vocals that’d fit right in on a Fugazi classic, and ecstatically warped melodies that recall Hot Hot Heat, these two plant a firm flag for their summer album, Black Rat”
“Two years of touring has allowed DZ Deathrays to realize their capabilities as songwriters and with Black Rat, it's clear they've got their sights set on bigger and stranger things”
BLACK RAT LP TRACKLIST
1. Black Rat
2. Gina Works At Hearts
3. Less Out Of Sync
4. Reflective Skull
5. Keep Myself on Edge
6. Northern Lights
7. Nightwalking
8. Fixations
9. Ocean Exploder
10. Tonight Alright
11. Night Slave
Black Rat 10th Anniversary Limited Edition White Vinyl
out Friday 3rd May 2024 via I OH YOU. Pre-Order HERE
In celebration of the decade anniversary of their album Black Rat, DZ Deathrays announce their embarkation on a national tour this June & July – tickets are on sale March 5.
With over 14 million streams, international critical acclaim and the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, Black Rat (released through long-time friends I OH YOU) cast DZ Deathrays into the stratosphere. Revered for its blend of garage rock and dance punk, the genre defining record cemented Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley’s names in the national sphere as well as leaders in the recognition and successful export of Australian talent worldwide.
Their innovation captivated fans and industry alike, relentlessly touring 15 countries in just two years. Now a modern classic, their marriage of infectious hooks as in hits ‘Gina Works at Hearts’, ‘Reflective Skull’ and ‘Ocean Exploder’, combined with high-octane live show performances cemented DZ’s reputation as an electrifying addition to the Australian rock canon.
Locally, the album’s esteem included placement as triple j Feature Album, through to praise for “how subtly they are transforming away from their indie punk party thrash origins” (The Music), and as like “having the best radio station in the world on in the background – you don’t know what’s coming next but you know that it’s going to be good” (Beat Magazine) amongst reviews with The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald remarking on their lasting growth. No different on release than today, Black Rat continues to leave a lasting impact.
Celebrate ten years of Black Rat this June through to July where DZ Deathrays will revisit all 11 songs in full across Australia. An exclusive anniversary white vinyl repress is available now for pre-order, limited to 300 worldwide.
From their inception, DZ Deathrays remain one of the most recognisable acts in the contemporary Australian rock canon, most notably with the success of their debut album Bloodstreams which made DZ synonymous with thunderous. Quickly followed by their second album Black Rat signifying a maturer sound, they expanded beyond their garage roots into an award-winning machine, touring the world countless times over, supporting The Foo Fighters stadium tours, Ratatat, Biffy Clyro, Grinspoon and more, headline slots across The Tivoli, The Enmore and The Forum and more.
Amongst DZ‘s enduring fanbase they remain festival favourites with performance tallies across multiple years at Splendour In The Grass, Falls Festival, St. Jerome’s Laneway alongside international appearances at SXSW, Reading and Leeds Festival, and multiple entries in triple j‘s Hottest 100. Coupled with their more recent LPs Bloody Lovely and their critically-acclaimed twin concept albums, Positive Rising: Part 1 and Part 2, the project of Shane Parsons, Simon Ridley and Lachlan Ewbank has long cemented DZ Deathrays‘ staple status – it’s not every day that a band gets stronger and more popular with time.
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