I haven’t been paying attention to any of the making-of news for La Gárgola like I should’ve been, but I did notice an article from Loudwire on how the new single is rocking some serious cowbell. Behold!
No joke. Christopher Walken’s prime directive. Right here.
This song has such a bad-ass, suspenseful swagger that I can see it being used in previews for action movies this summer. (Or for years to come. Remember the ubiquity of White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human” and Prodigy’s “Firestarter” in millennial movie trailers?)
A quick impression of the lyrics: Combat. A topic Pete Loeffler frequently addresses in one way or another. Tense conflict resolved through violence. And this is usually a commentary on a larger-scale issue or something more transcendent, like fighting against one’s own fears and anxieties.
I may develop a better analysis after the official video comes out. There will definitely be an album review. I love the way the track listing looks kind of spooky, with songs like, “Ouija Board,” “Hunter Eats Hunter,” and “The Damned” on an album with a post-apocalyptic-looking plague doctor on the cover and a title that’s Spanish for “The Gargoyle.” Fuck yes.
And Now for an Unsolicited History of My Fandom
The first thing that hit me about “Take Out The Gunman” was the similarity to their debut album; the guitar tone and strumming pattern took me all the way back to the Steve Albini-produced Point #1 and even reminded me how my first impression of Pete’s voice cast him as a Maynard James Keenan soundalike. Kind of a hard comparison to avoid when the first video I saw of theirs was this:
The visuals here say more about the band’s relationship with Squint Entertainment than the lyrics. The narrative represents the Loeffler boys trying to get their music out into the strange, hostile world of publishing and finding their “baby” in the hands of a Christian faith-based record label – a situation that later caused the band some drama.
Kids sort of like me initially got into this group because it came in on what is now Static Radio. Some of the only decent FM that could reach us out in the wastelands of the Bible belt was contemporary Christian with its many translators. I was no member of the FCA or anything, but where I grew up, it was either that or country music. Say what you will about the viability of broadcast radio, but to this day it’s still one of my main resources for discovering new music. Guess I’m just old.
It was 1999. After seeing Lars Ulrich introduce Chevelle on an episode of MTV’s “Return of the Rock,” I was more than happy to jump on their fan-wagon. In fact, I remember being one of the only people in town who was on it. Yep, I was one of those assholes. I was so proud of my new, almost-indie treasure and their garagey, post-grunge LP.
In the pantheon of my musical idols, Chevelle is unique in that I belonged to them from the start. I didn’t get into a lot of my other favorites like the Deftones or Soundgarden until the second or third album. Which is all well and good to say. Over the past couple of weeks of listening to Chevelle’s entire discography plus all the B-sides and periphery in my collection, I’ve realized how much of a lapsed fan I’ve been lately. Somehow I missed the video for Hats Off to the Bull and also neglected to buy their Any Last Words DVD.
What the shit.
Well, at least a new album means a tour is coming. I cannot wait to see these guys live again.
[checks tour dates]
Um…
I’m so pissed at myself right now. So what if I’ve already seen them six times? Probably the worst offense, though, is not knowing where my autographed snare-head is. At one of those shows in 2005, my little sister was kind enough to punch someone in the face to get it for me when Sam threw it into the crowd. That piece of memorabilia is also the only way I remember my anniversary since my partner and I got together the day after the show.
Fuck. It’s 11:51 PM but God help me, I won’t be able to sleep until I know that my snare-head is safe and sound. Please excuse me while I eviscerate my closet, kthnx.
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