Official press release:
Industrial metal visionary Author & Punisher will deliver his sixth full-length recording and Relapse debut Beastland on October 5th. Watch the official performance video for the album’s first single “Nihil Strength” here:
Author & Punisher creator/sole artist Tristan Shone commented:
“I built new machines for this album to make more aggressive and dynamic music. These devices are compact and powerful, made from robotic components, intended for high energy repetition. I, as do many others, feel rage against the Beasts of our era: those who horde, who poison, or who discriminate. We need aggressive music to make an aggressive statement. Beastland is an introspection of who we are as a human race. At a time when we have the tools, the intellect, and the history to remind us how to treat each other and the earth, we go far out of our way to feast on the less fortunate and vulnerable, disregarding the atrocities and lessons of the past.”
Drawing inspiration from his career as a mechanical engineer, Shone forged a relationship with design, sound, and fabrication that ultimately yielded his hand-built “Drone Machines” which mapped the journey away from traditional instrumentation towards custom made “precision machinery.” A robotic experimentation in industrial metal, noise, doom and drone, Author & Punisher recalls Nine Inch Nails channeling Godflesh, traversing through dark, uncompromising, and often disturbing soundscapes with occasional detours into rich melodies and splinters of light. Armed with newly built “Drone Machines” and a new label, Beastland is Author & Punisher’s career-defining statement and a powerful listening experience that further blurs the line between man and machine.
Beastland was recorded at K Street in San Diego, CA and engineered by Tristan Shone & John Cota (Death Eyes). Additional recording was done in Las Cruces, NM with Jason Begin (vytear). The album was co-produced with Braden Diotte (Faust, EXO//ENDO, Neurosis), mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.
Additionally, Author & Punisher will return to Europe in October after the release of Beastland, including select concerts with Godflesh, Conan and more. Also, he recently announced the first leg of Fall US tour dates with the Uniform & The Body collaboration. Finally, Author & Punisher will perform at Cold Waves Festival throughout September in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. All confirmed tour dates are available below and more announcements to come in the near future.
Beastland is due out October 5th on CD/LP/Digital via Relapse Records. Physical packages are available for pre-order here and digital downloads/streaming here.
Author & Punisher was recently featured on Noisey’s Specials feature highlighting Tristan Shone’s music. Watch the full video here.
Beastland track listing:
1. “Pharmacide”
2. “Nihil Strength”
3. “Ode to Bedlam”
4. “The Speaker Is Systematically Blown”
5. “Nazarene”
6. “Apparition”
7. “Night Terror”
8. “Beastland”
Tour Dates:
9/14 – New York, NY | Cold Waves NY @ Irving Plaza
9/22 – Chicago, IL | Cold Waves VII @ Metro
9/27 – Los Angeles, CA | Cold Waves LA @ 1720
10/12 – Rotterdam, NL | RVLT Festival
10/13 – Helsinki, FI | Blowup Vol. 4
10/14 – Tallin, EE | Sveta Baar
10/15 – St. Petersburg, RU | LES
10/16 – Moscow, RU | Model T
10/17 – Malmo, SE | Plan B #
10/18 – Copenhagen, DK | Pumpehuset ^
10/19 – Oslo, NO | Bla
10/20 – Gothenborg, SE | Sticky Fingers ^
10/24 – Lisbon, PT | MusicBox
10/25 – Porto, PT | Maus Habitos
11/08 – Cambridge, MA | Sonia *
11/09 – Montreal, QC | La Sala Rossa *
11/10 – Toronto, ON | Baby G *
11/11 – Detroit, MI | El Club *
11/12 – Oberlin, OH | Dionysus Disco *
11/13 – Chicago, IL | Empty Bottle *
11/15 – Pittsburgh, PA | Spirit Hall *
11/16 – Philadelphia, PA | PhilaMOCA *
11/17 – Brooklyn, NY | Market Hotel *
# w/ Conan
^ w/ Godflesh
* with The Body & Uniform