WORSHIPPER drop a psychedelic lyric video featuring the super heavy track ‘Heroic Dose’ as the next single taken from the Boston psychedelic hard rockers’ forthcoming third album, One Way Trip, which is scheduled for release on July 19, 2024.
Watch the video for ‘Heroic Dose’
WORSHIPPER comment on ‘Heroic Dose’: “This is the final song that we wrote for the record, and probably the most personal for me”, guitarist and singer John Brookhouse reveals. “I lost my dad in 2022, and one of the last conversations that we had was about his time in Vietnam. As I was writing the lyrics for this song, I realized that I had all of these remarkable stories, which he had told me about that period of time. Essentially, he flunked out of college, and in the midst of a ‘spirit journey’ he realized that he needed to enroll in the Army to avoid being drafted. I cannot even imagine being faced with such a grave decision. I made a bunch of war sounds with a Moog and a theremin that my dad gave me and handed them over to our producer, Alec Rodriguez. Alec just nailed the sound design, especially when mixed with all the acid fuzz freakout stuff at the end over Jarvis’ excellent drum fills.”
One Way Trip Tracklisting:
- Heroic Dose
- Keep This
- Windowpane
- Only Alive
- Acid Burns
- James Motel
- The Spell
- Onward
With their third full-length, One Way Trip, Boston, MA psychedelic hard rockers WORSHIPPER have perfected their grand balancing act between classic hard rock and old school heavy metal that is empowered to soar high with the injection of a healthy dose of psychedelia. Rock and metal are all about the hooks and riffs, and the American quartet serves out those catchy delicacies in more than generous helpings.
Although the album title One Way Trip and some of the record’s songs could be interpreted as relating to drug culture, things aren’t so literal here, as WORSHIPPER take a more kaleidoscopic view of the human condition through a psychedelic lens. During the making of the album, three band members suffered personal loss. Opening track ‘Heroic Dose’ revolves around the choice of a father who had realized in a ‘psychedelic epiphany’ that he faced a choice between either enlisting or being drafted and sent to the front lines of the Vietnam war. The album’s sequence also reflects the influence of the psychological horror thriller Jacob’s Ladder, in which a Vietnam veteran is plagued by flashbacks and monstrous visions, and which added a loose circular concept to the record.
That a band from Boston takes inspiration from the dark side of art is probably no coincidence, as New England is home to grandmasters of horror H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. Coincidentally, the rebellious city that sparked the American War of Independence and the region are also sizzling hotspots of the East Coast rock scene.
When WORSHIPPER were founded in 2014, it was clear to singer and guitarist John Brookhouse, drummer Dave Jarvis, bass player and backing vocalist Bob Maloney, and guitarist Alejandro Necochea that their new band had to stand out given the high concentration of like-minded and talented local peers. With the mission statement of bringing something exciting and fresh to the table, the still intact original line-up has cranked out impeccable heady and heavy stuff with an emphatic focus on real songs with hooky melodies, creepy vocal harmonies, and twin guitar heroics from the moment of inception.
WORSHIPPER’s gift for catchy epic songwriting did not go unnoticed, and soon a record deal established the band globally with the albums Shadow Hymns (2016) and Light In The Wire (2019) receiving worldwide praise. Their quick success also opened doors for heading out on the road, and WORSHIPPER gladly accepted offers to tour with WEEDEATER in the US and THE SKULL in Europe as well as sharing stages with kindred spirits and heroes such as ELDER, LUCIFER, ACE FREHLEY, and MONSTER MAGNET among many others.
With One Way Trip, WORSHIPPER not only fulfil the high expectations their third full-length was saddled with, but the Americans are obviously enjoying doing exactly what they’re best at: writing damn great songs for an album that has only killers and no fillers!