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Aug 22, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Black Mountain

Sabbath meets Mountain. Black Mountain released a new album, Destroyer, in May via Jagjaguwar. Now they have covered Black Sabbath’s “Junior’s Eyes” for Amazon Music. It’s an eight-and-a-half-minute version of the song, originally found on Black Sabbath’s 1978 album Never Say Die! Black Mountain have also announced some more tour dates for November and December. Listen to the cover below, followed by the original version of the song and Black Mountain’s upcoming tour dates.

Frontman Stephen McBean had this to say about the cover in a press release: “Deep end period Ozzy slow burn. Some Butler/Ward funk, Iommi wah flutters and floating synths ... randomly rediscovered on a cruise through some red sand tropics. Nearly ten years on and still pulling riffs from the sky…. never say die! You’re never too old to switch on and upwards!”

Previously Black Mountain shared Destroyer‘s first single, “Future Shade.” Then they shared another song from it, the over six-minute long “Boogie Lover.” Then they shared another song from the album, “Licensed to Drive,” as well as a video for the song inspired by 1970s and 1980s video games (with perhaps a nod to Mad Max Fury Road as well).

Stephen McBean conceived the album in the wake of finally getting a driver’s license for the first time two years ago. The album features longtime member Jeremy Schmidt, alongside new members Rachel Fannan (Sleepy Sun), and Adam Bulgasem (Dommengang & Soft Kill), as well as previous collaborators Kliph Scurlock (The Flaming Lips), Kid Millions (Oneida), and John Congleton (St. Vincent, Swans).

A previous press release described the album this way: “Destroyer, named after the discontinued single-run 1985 Dodge Destroyer muscle car, is structured around the feeling of driving a hot rod. The album exists in the middle of the early-to-mid 80s Los Angeles war between punk and hair metal - it’s exhilarating, spirited, and dangerous. Throughout, youthful themes run rampant: ‘Boogie Lover’ cruises down the Sunset Strip, ‘Horns Arising’ is a fill-up at a desert gas station just in time to see a UFO hovering near a mesa, and ‘High Rise’ rounds out a sense of teenage discovery.”

The album is the band’s fifth, the follow-up to 2016’s IV.

Read our recent My Firsts interview with Black Mountain.

Black Mountain Tour Dates:

Thu. Sept. 12 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile (w/ L.A. Witch)
Fri. Sept. 13 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom (w/ L.A. Witch)
Sat. Sept. 14 - Vancouver, BC @ Westward Festival (w/ Majeure, Dead Quiet)
Sun. Sept. 15 - Victoria, BC @ Distrikt (w/ Majeure)
Tue. Sept. 17 - Edmonton, AB @ Starlite (w/ Majeure)
Wed. Sept. 18 - Calgary, AB @ Commonwealth (w/ Majeure)
Thu. Sept. 19 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos (w/ Majeure)
Fri. Sept. 20 - Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid (w/ Majeure)
Sat. Sept. 21 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club (w/ Dommengang, Majeure)
Sun. Sept. 22 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon (w/ Dommengang, Majeure)
Tue. Sept. 24 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (w/ Dommengang, Majeure)
Thu. Sept. 26 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme (w/ Dommengang, Majeure)
Fri. Sept. 27 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups (w/ Dommengang, Majeure)
Fri. Sept. 28 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls (w/ Graveyard)
Sun. Sept. 29 - Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom (w/ Graveyard)
Tue. Oct. 1 - Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre (w/ Graveyard)
Wed. Oct. 2 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony (w/ Graveyard)
Thu. Oct. 3 - Richmond, VA @ Broadberry
Fri. Oct. 4 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm (w/ Graveyard)
Sat. Oct. 5 - Tampa, FL @ The Ritz (w/ Graveyard)
Mon. Oct. 14 - Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre
Tue. Oct. 15 - Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
Wed. Oct. 16 - Leeds, UK @ The Key Club
Fri. Oct. 18 - Glasgow, UK @ Audio
Sat. Oct. 19 - Newcastle, UK @ Think Tank
Sun. Oct. 20 - Birmingham, UK @ The Castle & Falcon
Mon. Oct. 21 - Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
Tue. Oct. 22 - London, UK @ The Garage
Thu. Oct. 24 - Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVrendenburg
Fri. Oct. 25 - Maastricht, NL @ Muziekgieterij
Sat. Oct. 26 - Brussels, BE @ Le Botanique
Fri. Nov. 1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Nov. 2 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Sun. Nov. 3 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Mon. Nov. 4 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar (w/ Ryley Walker)
Fri. Nov. 8 - Austin, TX @ Levitation Festival (w/ Stonefield, Kikagaku Moyo)
Sun. Nov. 10 - Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge (w/ Ryley Walker)
Tue. Nov. 12 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Wed. Nov. 13 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat (w/ Ryley Walker)
Thu. Nov. 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts (w/ Ryley Walker)
Fri. Nov. 15 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom (w/ Ryley Walker)
Sat. Nov. 16 - Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory (w/ Ryley Walker)
Tue. Nov. 19 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s (w/ MONO, Ryley Walker)
Wed. Nov. 20 - London, ON @ Rum Runners (w/ Ryley Walker)
Thu. Nov. 21 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom (w/ Ryley Walker)
Fri. Nov. 22 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall (w/ Ryley Walker)
Sat. Nov. 23 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle (w/ Ryley Walker)
Sun. Nov. 24 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West (w/ Ryley Walker)
Tue. Nov. 26 - St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill (w/ Ryley Walker)
Wed. Nov. 27 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown (w/ Ryley Walker)
Fri. Nov. 29 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater (w/ Ryley Walker)
Mon. Dec. 2 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge (w/ Ryley Walker)
Tue. Dec. 3 - Garden City, ID @ Visual Arts Collective
Thu. Dec. 5 - Las Vegas, NV @ Bunkhouse Saloon (w/ Ryley Walker)
Fri. Dec. 6 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s (w/ Ryley Walker)
Sun. Dec. 8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

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