HAMPTON BEACH, NH – Every year has at least a couple tours going on where the bill is chock full of talent from top to bottom, or the other way around. When this party rolls through a friendly neighborhood music venue, fans make sure to arrive right when the doors open so they don’t miss a second of what’s about to go down. A current example of this is an expedition titled “The Two-Headed Beast” that’s co-headlined by the Germantown, Maryland groove rockers Clutch and the Long Beach, California rock & roll act Rival Sons. As if that’s not enough, fellow California rockers Fu Manchu are the openers for the first run of shows as part of this extravagant tour. This includes a stop at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on September 15 with it all starting at 7 p.m.
What makes the upcoming gig even more special are the concepts behind the performances. Clutch are going to be performing their popular 2004 full-length release “Blast Tyrant” while Rival Sons will be playing their 2014 album “Great Western Valkyrie” in its entirety as well. On top of this, Fu Manchu are going to be doing a few songs off of their new double album “The Return Of Tomorrow,” which came out on June 14 via their label At The Dojo Records.
“When I listen to music, it’s either all heavy stuff with no mellow stuff mixed in or just softer stuff with no heavy stuff,” vocalist and guitarist Scott Hill says about the album via a press release. “I know a lot of bands like to mix it up and we have done that before, but I always tend to listen to all of one type of thing or the other. So, I figured we should do a double record with seven heavy fuzzy songs on one record and the other record six mellow songs fully realizing that maybe I’m the only person that likes to listen to stuff that way. We kept both the records to around 25-30 minutes each as to make it a full length release, but not have each record be too long. We don’t write a lot of mellow stuff in Fu Manchu, but a lot of the riffs worked minus the fuzz.”
“If you’re a vinyl person, both records are pressed at 45 rpm to give it the best sound quality,” he adds. “If you’re a digital person, [you] can make your own playlist and mix both the records together.”
Hill is the only original member of Fu Manchu, and he was joined by lead guitarist Bob Balch, bass Brad Davis and drummer Scott Reeder for the making of “The Return Of Tomorrow”. That dynamic between the heavy and soft material right from the get-go is visible with tracks such as “Loch Ness Wrecking Machine”, “Hands Of The Zodiac” and “Destroyin’ Light” bringing the amplification during the first half of the album. On the other side, songs like “Solar Baptized,” “What I Need” and “Liquify” aren’t relatively “soft,” but there’s more of a concentration on the structure and arrangements. Overall, the new album is excellent and it’s ideal for anyone who enjoys emphatic riffs and electric creativity. It’s also a testament to the band’s consistency when it comes to putting out stellar music.
To check out “The Return Of Tomorrow,” there are a few different ways to do so. Folks can log onto the band’s website at fu-manchu.com and click on the shop page to purchase it either digitally or physically. They can also search for the album on Bandcamp, Spotify or any other platform of their choosing to give it a stream. Even better, they can buy it at the merch table at the show that’s happening this Sunday night. Either way, it’s highly suggested that people buy the album and attend the amplified extravaganza.