Boston heavy rockers KIND to release new album "Close Encounters" this August 11th on Ripple Music; hear new single "Burn Scar" now!

Boston heavy rockers KIND are set to release their third studio album "Close Encounters" on Ripple Music this summer, with preorders and a second track available right now!

KIND is comprised of guitarist Darryl Shepard (ex-Milligram, The Long Wait, Blackwolfgoat, Hackman), bassist Tom Corino (Rozamov), drummer Matt Couto (ex-Elder) and vocalist Craig Riggs (Roadsaw, also drums for Sasquatch). Following their Ripple Music debut "Rocket Science" (2015) and sophomore album "Mental Nudge" (2020), their third album "Close Encounters" is nine songs of heavy stoner/doom/psych rock with some additional elements, furthering the scope of their musical vision. 

Prog-rock leaning opener “Burn Scar”, the almost-but-not-quite pop of “Snag” and the Krautrock-inspired closer “Pacino” bring some variety to the proceedings, with additional percussion, Mellotron and synth blended into the mix. The locked-in rhythm section of drummer Matt Couto and bassist Tom Corino and the heavy-as-bricks riffing of guitarist Darryl Shepard are topped off with the powerful and melodic vocals of Craig Riggs throughout, creating a cohesive sound regardless of where the band ventures musically.

Listen to KIND's new single - Burn Scar below:

KIND never stray from their mission, which is to write and perform top-shelf heavy rock. "Mental Nudge" ended up on several year-end best-of lists and topped the Doom Charts in September of 2020. "Close Encounters" ups the ante in several ways, showing the versatility of these four seasoned musicians who have performed with KIND and previous bands at festivals such as Roadburn, Hellfest, Desertfest and many more. But as the saying goes, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture”. The best thing to do is to throw on a copy of "Close Encounters" and turn the volume up. Once again, the band recorded with engineer Alec Rodriguez at Mad Oak Studios, and the eye-catching cover art was created by renowned artist Alexander Von Wieding in his lair in Germany.

Says bassist Tom Corino: “KIND has always been a band that evolves without losing our main focus and I think that’s no different on this record. Darryl (guitar) came in with his most stylistically diverse set of ideas yet. From there we as a band were able to create a really focused approach and in my opinion, outshine our previous effort the same way we did last time around. Working with Alec was, as it always is, easy and focused. He’s able to get the best performances out of us and was able to capture a massive sound from our band.“ It will be issued in Limited Galaxy Edition vinyl, Classic Black vinyl, limited CD digipack and digital on August 11th, with preorders available now via Ripple Music.

New album "Close Encounters" - Out August 11th via Ripple Music
Vinyl and CD preorder: Bandcamp - US store

TRACKLIST:

1. Burn Scar
2. Favorite One
3. Black Yesterday
4. Snag
5. Massive
6. Power Grab
7. Of the Ages
8. What It Is To Be Free
9. Pacino

Featuring members Matt Couto (ex-Elder), Tom Corino (ex-Rozamov), Craig Riggs (Roadsaw) and Darryl Shepard (ex-Black Pyramid), KIND formed in 2013 and released their debut album “Rocket Science” on Ripple Music in the waning days of 2015. That album garnered favorable reviews across the board, including from Metal Hammer who stated that it built up “an atmosphere that’ll sound awesome played live”.

That was proven by a West Coast tour KIND undertook with Ripple labelmates Salem’s Bend and a live appearance at Desertfest London in 2018, as well as many shows throughout the Northeastern U.S. KIND released their sophomore album “Mental Nudge” in the fall of 2020 through Ripple Music (USA) and Kozmik Artifactz (Europe). Recorded at Mad Oak Studios, “Mental Nudge” stays true to their sound while expanding their sonic palette, offering seven songs that cover a broad aural spectrum from the indie-rock influenced “Helms”, the full-on doom of “Trigger Happy” to the rock bombast of “Broken Tweaker. The result is a wall of sound that shows the talent and experience these musicians continue to bring to the form. KIND is now ready to return with their third full-length “Close Encounters”, to be issued in August 2023 on Ripple Music.

KIND is:

Matthew Couto - drums
Tom Corino - bass
Craig Riggs - vocals
Darryl Shepard - guitar

KIND links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify

RIPPLE MUSIC links

Website ⎪ Facebook ⎪ Bandcamp ⎪ Instagram