Lovingly referred to as one of the leading noise bands of all time, US rock outfit The Jesus Lizard are putting their long-suffering fans out of their misery this Friday, September 13, when they drop their first album in 26 years, Rack.
Known for their energetic and off-the-cuff live performances as much as their music, The Jesus Lizard managed to release six albums between 1987 and 1996, gaining a huge underground following that had as much to do with the band members honest, egoless attitude towards life, music and the world in general.
After disbanding in 1999 with a strong likelihood the decision would be permanent, The Jesus Lizard faded back into the musical void from which they had risen, but the fire and passion within, while possibly waning, still held enough heat to bring the members back together sporadically over the course of the next decade and a bit. They played a select number of "re-enactment" shows, which in turn led to an increased musical libido, which in turn led to The Jesus Lizard resuming their love/hate affair with the music industry and writing a new album. Vocalist David Yow joined HEAVY to discuss the new music and getting the gang back together.
"Pretty good," he replied when asked how it felt to be on the cusp of a new album after so long. "It's a little strange to be doing a record… we broke up in 1999 so now it's kind of an odd thing to have gotten back together and written enough songs to make an album and made that album. But I'm happy. It turned out much better than I would have guessed."
In the full interview, David talks more about the musical nature of Rack, how they approached the album in terms of demographic, retaining their old sound and image, the early days of the band and where they fit in, the break-up of The Jesus Lizard and how they came back together, at what point he knew the band would start writing together again and more.