New Zealand’s mighty Beastwars have proven that the people OBEY THE RIFF! The metal outfit’s 4th album ‘IV’ took home the #1 spot of the NZ Top 40 Music Charts over the weekend – and now they are releasing their video for single “Wolves and Prey” ahead of their Australian Tour dates!
Their entire New Zealand tour run of dates SOLD OUT, and this week, they will jump across the ditch for a run of shows starting July 11 – all presented by Panhead Custom Ales. Their Melbourne and Sydney dates will feature Australia’s Witchskull.
The video for Wolves and Prey is based on a story from the 4000 year old Babylonian epic Gilgamesh – the oldest story ever written. The song and video was made with the support of New Zealand on Air. Amber Beaton, the Director of the clip, said that “When I first heard the song and the title it reminded me of one of the stories in the epic of Gilgamesh where the shepherd in the story gets turned into a wolf, his own worst enemy. Then that also reminded me of a different time when I was interviewing Matthew (Beastwars vocalist) for a documentary about the new album and he had told me that while he was doing chemotherapy he had to poison himself to get better. So you have to turn into your own enemy in order to live. That’s what lead me down this path. And because of that, looking more into the original story of Gilgamesh, he’s on a mission to find out how to live forever. And then he finds out that of course we’re all meant to die.”
After the news dropped on Friday that IV had topped the NZ Charts, vocalist Matthew Hyde said that “I have been playing music for so many years. How many times has a musician got their first number 1 album at 48 years old? It can’t be many. If i was to look back at my career in music, I come from the underground. We always thought it would only be bands that had massive commercial radio play that could achieve this. We’ve been hugely supported by student radio around New Zealand but very few bands only played on student radio score a number 1. It’s the fans, it’s the people who have made this happen for us. It was an accomplishment which took years. It feels good to be making what you think is your best music at this stage of life.”
This new album is Beastwars’ triumphant return after vocalist Matt Hyde underwent over 6 months of treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2016 – he battled it and won – and is now in remission. The album is shaped by Hyde’s experiences and battle.
Beastwars’ new album IV is out now – Limited Edition Vinyl, Cassette and T-Shirt Bundles are available at http://www.beastwars.bigcartel.com.
REMAINING TOUR DATES
Sydney – Crowbar – Thursday July 11 w/ POTION
Melbourne – The Espy, Gershwin Room – Friday July 12 w/ Dr. Colossus and Droid
Brisbane – Dead of Winter Festival – Saturday July 13*
*dates without WITCHSKULL
Sydney and Dead of Winter Tickets available from oztix.com.au
Melbourne Tickets available from moshtix.com.au
