Geezer Butler's new band Deadland Ritual unleash debut song & confirm Download slot
Rock supergroup Deadland Ritual have unleased their debut song 'Down In Flames' and its accompanying video.
The four-piece band consists of Black Sabbath legend Geezer Butler on bass, vocalist Franky Perez (Apocalyptica, Scars on Broadway), drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) and guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol).
Available to download right now via Sonik Riot Recordings, ‘Down In Flames’ was produced by esteemed Black Sabbath, Metallica and Audioslave collaborator Greg Fidelman and the accompanying video sees Deadland Ritual blast the track out in the studio.
The brainchild of longtime friends Matt Sorum, Steve Stevens and Franky Perez, Deadland Ritual’s line-up was complete when Geezer Butler accepted the invitation to join the group.
“I had to get used to the idea of starting from scratch again, which is good,” Geezer says. “But I really liked the music I was hearing. It’s not your typical hard rock or metal stuff.”
Commenting on working with his idol, Steve Stevens says: “There's a lot of times in the studio as a guitar player, you get a guitar sound and you're trying to make it work, tweaking it.
“There was none of that bullsh*t. It just fit against his bass sound and it was really exciting to me. I get to hear my guitar against a bass guitarist that I've idolized forever."
Explaining how the band’s collective experience has shaped the darker tone of their music, Franky Perez says: “Obviously we’ve been through some stuff. If you’re being honest artistically, all the turmoil of love, loss, happiness and pain in life makes its way into the music.”
And for Matt Sorum, he’s setting the bar extremely high: “I wanted to get the best drum sound I’ve ever gotten, and play the best I’ve played. I think I’ve achieved that. As a drummer I’ve morphed through a lot of decades of rock and roll.”
Deadland Ritual will play Download Festival and Hellfest in June where their setlists will be drawn from original material and deeper cuts from their respective previous bands. Tickets to Download Festival are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.
Alongside the two festival shows, Deadland Ritual are plotting more headline dates and will continue writing and recording in the studio.
See Deadland Ritual at the following show:
JUNE 2019
Download Festival, Donington Park – 14th to 16th