Heavens U.S. tour plans and Halloween show announced!
HEAVENS, the stellar new collaboration between Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba and his friend Josiah Steinbrick, has announced a four week U.S. tour to support its debut album, Patent Pending. Released on September 12th via Epitaph, the disc has garnered high praise from the likes of Alternative Press, Spin, Kerrang! and Rock Sound The trek, which gets underway in Seattle on October 24th, counts an apropos CMJ/MySpace gig at Sin-E' on Halloween Night.
“Imagine the Cure born to the Warped Tour generation,” touted Spin, calling Patent Pending “surprisingly tuneful and thoughtful.” Alternative Press Magazine confers HEAVENS the highest possible review of 5 out of 5 “The cumulative effect of the songs on Patent Pending creates a chilling experience, where the imagery (both sonic and lyrical) stick with you far beyond the last notes played.” Elsewhere, Rock Sound gave the disc an 8 out of 10 rating, writing “Patent Pending is a Satanic-tinged, electro-rock requiem for a decaying world.”
Metal Hammer also bestowed HEAVENS with an 8 out of 10 rating, stating, “The songs are intimate pieces, full of eerie word plays and far-removed from the pop-punk of Skiba’s day job. There’s a definite magic… with Skiba’s vocals offering a throwback to the Cure of the early 80s. But it’s all so bloody relevant to 2006.”
And in a glowing 4 K review, Kerrang! raved, “Heavens paint electronic landscapes, but with drums that tap-tap-tap away at you; entrancing melodies wrap themselves around you with mesmerizing persistence. Skiba’s lyrics remain gloomy – there are guillotines, graveyards and gore. The subtle and aloof tone might throw off some A3 faithful, true fans will fall in love with this.”
The friendship that spawned HEAVENS began several years back when Skiba moved to Los Angeles and wound up becoming housemates with Steinbrick, himself an East Coast native. “We're both music nerds,” Skiba explained last June when Epitaph signed the band. “So one day we're both hanging out listening to music and Joe pulls out this cassette he had recorded with just these instrumental tracks. Even without lyrics I could tell they were amazing songs and said that we should start writing together. I had a sixteen-track in my room that I was using to demo Alkaline Trio songs, and once I fell in love with Joe's songs, I thought, 'I could write lyrics to these so easily.'"
Patent Pending's stark soundscapes will be fleshed out by a live incarnation featuring Skiba, Steinbrick, former Engine Down drummer Matt Compton, producer/bassist Ben Lovett (known for his studio work with Dangermouse) and others.
Confirmed dates for HEAVENS' maiden live voyage are as follows:
OCT 24 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
OCT 25 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
OCT 26 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
OCT 27 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
OCT 28 - San Diego, CA @ SOMA
OCT 31 - New York NY @ Sin-E' (CMJ/MySpace show)
NOV 08 - Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
NOV 09 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
NOV 10 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
NOV 11 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
NOV 12 - Boston, MA @ The Middle East
NOV 15 - Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo
NOV 16 - Detroit, MI @ Shelter
NOV 17 - Chicago, IL @ Metro