US Heavy Psych-Prog Rockers RAINBOWS ARE FREE to issue new album "Silver and Gold" on Ripple Music this spring; watch new video "Sleep" now.

US heavy psychedelic and progressive rockers RAINBOWS ARE FREE announce the upcoming release of their fourth studio album "Silver and Gold" this March 7th on Ripple Music, and present their new video for "Sleep" today.

Watch Rainbows Are Free's new video "Sleep" below

Rainbows Are Free's sonic pedigree appears on the rock n’ roll family tree at the point where proto-metal and heavy psychedelia shared a common apocryphal ancestor before branching off into their own distinct lineages. Their fourth studio record "Silver and Gold" is a dark-tinged, heavy offering that immediately conjures a sense of foreboding right out of the gates – a comforting dreariness that the band embraces to channel their sonic attack. They are at peace here, if not at home.

The sonic assault continues as the band pummels the listener with crunchy guitars erupting into explosive leads that ride upon a driving rhythm section, held together by a lattice of spacey synth and guitar atmospherics. Rainbows Are Free’s soundscape is further cemented by lead singer Brandon Kistler’s soaring, crooning, and at times snarling, vocal fury. In all, the heavy psych alchemy at work on the album is apparent in their multi-faceted sound that spins proggy riffs, sexy groove magick, garage surf-rock, and even a death metal inspired ripper into "Silver and Gold" as a varied, but cohesive listening experience.

About the new single "Sleep", vocalist Brandon Kistler comments: “Lyrically, it's pretty straight ahead, and I'm most proud of the chorus for its honesty about society today and how we perceive it. It’s very relatable to how I felt at the time. My favorite line is, “We can’t let it break, no it can’t be broke.” I’m referring to society as a whole, and I was thinking about my children and the future of that society when I ad-libbed that line… we have to make it work.”

RAINBOWS ARE FREE "Silver and Gold" - Out March 7th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)
International preorder - North American preorder

Rainbows Are Free formed in late 2007 as the conglomerate of several long-time heavy rock bands from Norman, OK. In February 2008, they self-released an eponymous demo EP featuring the track “Are You Dead”, which catapulted the band into the burgeoning heavy psych scene of the era. A year later they began work on a full- length album, Believers In Medicine, which was released in April 2010 on Guestroom Records Records (GRR). They followed up with their second album on GRR in 2014 with the release of Waves Ahead of the Ocean. In 2019 Rainbows saw an international release with their fourth studio offering, Head Pains, on Italian doom/stoner/sludge label Argonauta Records (Arenzano, GE), followed by a live retrospective album in 2023 with the release of Heavy Petal Music on California-based heavy psych/stoner/doom juggernauts, Ripple Music.

Often appearing in costumed stage dress, the band, fronted by the soaring and snarling nigh 7-foot cyclone of weirdness that is Brandon Kistler, continues to shock and amaze fans by introducing an element of good- humored theatrics to accompany their live sonic assault. This is achieved in no small part due to the guitar prowess and songwriting of Richie Tarver, joined by the ambient soundscapes of Joey Powell on rhythm guitar and Josh Elam on spacey synth, and rounded out by the thunderous low end of Jason Smith on bass and Bobby Onspaugh on drums.

Rainbows Are Free continue to bring their unique brand of psychedelic heaviness on tour as they support the release of their upcoming studio album, Silver and Gold, due out Spring of 2025 on Ripple Music.

RAINBOWS ARE FREE is

Brandon Kistler - Vocals
Richie Tarver - Lead Guitar
Jason Smith - Bass
Joey Powell - Rhythm Guitar
Bobby Onspaugh – Drums
Josh Elam - Synths

RAINBOWS ARE FREE links

Website ⎪ Facebook ⎪ Bandcamp ⎪ Instagram ⎪ Spotify

RIPPLE MUSIC links

Website ⎪ Facebook ⎪ Bandcamp ⎪ Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.

Rainbows Are Free - Head Pains (Album Review) And Song Premiere Of COVERED IN DAWN

Release date: November 29^th 2019. Label: Argonauta Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Head Pains – Tracklisting

1.The Sound Inside

2.Electricity on Wax

3.Shapeshifter

4.Covered In Dawn

5.Lady of the Woods/Psychonaut

6.The Nile Song

7.A Penny's Worth

8.Eunice

Members

Brandon Kistler - Vocals

Richie Tarver - Lead Guitar/Synth/Backup Vocals

Joey Powell - Guitars

Jason Smith - Bass/Piano

Bobby Onspaugh - Drums/Auxiliary Percussion

Review

Head Pains is the new album from Psychedelic Stoner Rockers – Rainbows Are Free – and this is my first time listening to the band. I have heard of the band before but never give them my full attention until this album. Rainbows Are Free are considered a Stoner Rock/Metal band but that only tells a small part of the band’s story. As they play a lot more different styles on this album such as Grunge, Space Rock, Hard Rock and Progressive Rock.

Head Pains is an album that takes many wild creative chances with not only the music but also the production and lyrics as well. Rainbows Are Free are a force of nature of this album with lush psychedelic sounds leading the way and then the band move into another unexpected direction. So be prepared for an album that’s not afraid to creative risks and maybe frustrate you along the way and still demanding your full attention.

Opening song – The Sound Inside – is a heavy and atmospheric style of Psychedelic Stoner Rock with Grunge influences appearing from the start. The Ambient Post-Stoner grooves remind myself of early Monster Magnet in many ways before the band settle for their own stylish brand of Stoner Rock. The vocals have a classic Grunge feel but soon turn into a heavier Stoner based presence with a gloomy outlook. The music is what sells this song with the band playing a stunning array of Stoner Rock/Metal grooves.

Second song – Electricity On Wax – is where the band start playing an unexpected and highly experimental style of Stoner Rock/Metal with the vocals having quite an Alternative feel to them. The music taps into that familiar Monster Magnet Space Rock riff but soon changes into the band’s own style of high energy based music.

Third song – Shapeshifter – opens with a Doom/Drone sound before Rainbows Are Free play a more classic style of Stoner Rock with echoes of that early Doom/Drone groove starting to settle in the background. The song leads upto a heavier style of music for the final few moments. It’s good to hear the band playing a more restrained style of music for the majority of the song. The heavier moments are exciting to hear but I enjoyed the first half of the song more.

Fourth song – Covered In Dawn – is one of the standout songs on the album as everything fits right into place with excellent vocals matching the groovy psychedelic sounds for a more spaced out effort from the band. The vocals are different and quite refreshing on this song.

Rainbows Are Free are just as exciting on the second half of the album with songs such as: Lady Of The Woods/Psychonaut, Nile Song and Eunice leading the way for the band to experiment with their Stoner Rock/Metal sound even further.

I can’t compare this album to the bands previous output as I haven’t had the chance to listen to them yet. Though I can say as a first time listener that Head Pains is a challenging album to listen to but it’s also one that’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual Stoner Rock/Metal albums currently doing the rounds. Rainbows Are Free play by their own rules and this album proves why you should invite yourself to the band’s crazy and unique sounding world.

Words by Steve Howe

You can hear a premiere of the new song Covered In Dawn with this groovy video premiere.

Thanks to Mona at All Noir PR for the promo. Head Pains will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records from November 29^th 2019.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp