Southern California’s hard-rock legends FU Manchu will make their long awaited return on February 9th with their highly-anticipated 12th studio album, Clone of the Universe. Today, the band partners with Billboard.com to premiere the record’s first revealed track, the title song, Clone of the Universe. Fans can pre-order the record now from At The Dojo Records at iTunes and www.Fu-Manchu.com.
Speaking with Billboard.com, founding guitarist Scott Hill says, ‘Our song “Clone Of The Universe” was the last song written for the new record. We had about 13 songs ready to to choose from, and about 3 weeks before we were to go into the studio we wrote that song. We record all of our songs on cassette 4-track and we had the first part of the song arranged/recorded but we still needed an ending to the song. On one of the final days of practice before going into the studio at the end of practice as we were packing up our gear, our drummer, Scott Reeder, was doing these fast drum beats/rolls and I thought it sounded great and as soon as I got home I still had his drumming in my head and I wrote the ending riffs to his drum beat.’
Clone Of The Universe marks a new chapter for the ‘fuzz rock’ pioneers as they mix the straight ahead blistering rock with unexpected time shifts, featuring tracks like the roaring cuts Don’t Panic and (I’ve Been) Hexed and the dynamically complex Clone of the Universe and Slower Than Light. The centerpiece of the album is “IL Mostro Atomico,” an 18 minute 8 second, side long epic featuring a special guest performance by Alex Lifeson, guitarist and songwriter of the legendary band RUSH. Heavier than anything they’ve ever done and broken into 4 distinct sections, it’s new ground for a band that’s been pushing the boundaries of “fuzz and wah” since its formation in 1990.
The album was recorded and produced by FU Manchu and Jim Monroe at The Racket Room in Santa Ana CA, as well as additional recording with Andrew Giacumakis at SUSSTUDIO in Simi Valley CA, and will be released worldwide for streaming and on vinyl and CD on the band’s own AT THE DOJO label via Cargo Distribution. FU Manchu is Scott Hill (vocals, guitar), Bob Balch (Guitars), Brad Davis (Bass) and Scott Reeder (Drums and Percussion).
FU Manchu will kick off their world tour in support of Clone of the Universe with two album release shows next month at Troubadour in Los Angeles (Feb 9th) and at The Casbah in San Diego (Feb 10th), which will be followed by a European and U.S. headline tour. Tickets are on sale now at http://fu-manchu.com/tour-dates/.
FU MANCHU Tour Dates:
9.Feb – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour
10.Feb – San Diego, CA – The Casbah
2.March – Paris, France – Le Trabendo
3.March – Hengelo, Netherlands – Metropol
5.March – Berlin, Germany – Festsaal Kreuzberg
6.March – Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset
7.March – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller
8.March – Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Medis
10.March – Helsinki, Finland – Nosturi
11.March – Riga, Latvia – Meina Piekdiena
13.March – Warsaw, Poland – Poglos
14.March – Prague, Czech Republic – Klub 007
15.March – Vienna, Austria – Arena
16.March – Budapest, Hungary – A38
18.March – Zurich, Switzerland – Mascotte
19.March – Bern, Switzerland – Dachstock
20.March – Munich, Germany – Hansa 39
21.March – Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof
23.March – Hamburg, Germany – Markhalle
24.March – Cologne, Germany – Bürgerhaus Stollwerck
25.March – Haarlem, Netherlands – Patronaat
26.March – Leuven, Belgium – Depot
27.March – London, England – 02 Academy Islington
1.May – Phoenix, Arizona – Rebel Lounge
3.May – Dallas, Texas – Curtain Club
4.May – Austin, Texas – Barracuda
5.May – Houston, Texas – White Oak
7.May – Atlanta, Georgia – Vinyl
8.May – Raleigh, North Carolina – Kings
9.May – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
11.May – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Underground Arts
12.May – New York, New York – Bowery Ballroom
13.May – Boston, Massachusetts – Brighton Music Hall
15.May – Cleveland, Ohio – Grog Shop
16.May – Columbus, Ohio – Ace of Cups
17.May – Detroit, Michigan – El Club
19.May – Chicago, Illinois – Bottom Lounge
22.May – Denver, Colorado – Streets of London Pub