Reformed ’70s rock legends TASTE have revealed their epic new single I Am God, alongside an apocalyptic film clip by acclaimed Australian director Clayton Jacobson (Kenny, Animal Kingdom). The group has also announced that their highly anticipated new album Life On Earth will be released on May 27. The band will embark on a national tour to support the release, kicking off at Brisbane’s Crowbar on July 1, moving through Adelaide’s Fowlers Live on July 9, Sydney’s Frankie’s Pizzeria on July 14 and finishing up with a show at Melbourne’s iconic Corner Hotel on July 16.
The exhilarating and thunderous I Am God demonstrates a maturity that only 40 years in the industry can provide. The explosive vocals, stark guitar harmonies and head-banging solos are all informed by the bands’ combined experience in the hard rock and jazz worlds. While composing the fiery tune, lead vocalist and keyboardist Ken Murdoch drew inspiration from an imagined dystopia, “I wrote the song based on a short story I’d written imagining life on Earth as The Sims game, played out by a not-so-benevolent God using events and disasters as ways of amusement. He plays…we pay.”
Legendary Australian director Clayton Jacobson reflects this theme in the film clip for I Am God. The band plays on defiantly as the shreds of society surrounding them continue to go up in flames. Murdoch says, “When we first met Clay the director, he asked what I would like for the video and I said ‘just the band and an army of stalking robots’. He’s so literal! I was joking! Once we’d seen the first draft we all screamed in unison ‘More Robots!’ and there they are!”
I Am God is the first single from Taste’s exciting new album Life On Earth. The epic suite was conceived over the course of a few months, as Murdoch recalls,“The songs poured out of me…I knew where it was going. It’s a big album.” Dramatic and well crafted – the best of 70s progressive rock readymade for a 2016 audience – Life On Earth boasts intricate string arrangements, complex percussive sections, and the walls of harmony that rendered Taste a household name. Reflecting on the themes touched upon throughout the record, Murdoch mentions “religion, life, death, terror, murder and zombie love.”
It’s a welcome offering from these lost legends of Australian rock, whose tragic story of mismanagement and parental control is not commonly known. Fresh-faced and prodigious, the group was set to sign to Sire Records and tour America with Queen in 1977 when it all went wrong, and the group disbanded. But what’s past is past, and the group is ecstatic to be playing together once more in light of their progressive new album.
The seasoned band are looking forward to hitting the road in July, with Murdoch enthusing, “It’s a pretty full-on show that shows off the chemistry of the band, who’ve played together nearly all their lives. It’s pretty musically complex, heavy, and evokes some mighty vocals and guitar solos.”
TASTE are Ken Murdoch (lead vocals, guitar), Joey Amenta (lead guitar, vocals), Damian Corniola (drums), Michael Tortoni (bass).
Life On Earth is out May 27. Tickets to the national LIFE ON EARTH tour are available now
“If Queen and Metallica had a bastard baby it would be called TASTE” BRIAN MANNIX
“Their combination of seventies style lofty ambition with warts and all attitude is still effective” ROLLING STONE
“Timeless rawk vibe that will never go out of style” THE MUSIC NETWORK
TASTE NATIONAL ‘LIFE ON EARTH’ TOUR
FRI 1 JUL | CROWBAR | BRISBANE, QLD | http://www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545
SAT 9 JUL | FOWLERS LIVE | ADELAIDE, SA | http://www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 438 849
THU 14 JUL | FRANKIE’S PIZZERIA | SYDNEY, NSW | FREE ENTRY
SAT 16 JUL | THE CORNER | MELB, VIC | www.ticketscout.com.au | 1300 724 867
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