22 September 2023
Newsdesk
2x GRAMMY-nominated band Rival Sons have unleashed a brand new single entitled “Mercy” – available on all streaming platforms now. It heralds the impending arrival of their much-anticipated new album, LIGHTBRINGER, on October 20th. It notably marks the group’s second full-length offering to be unveiled in 2023, following June’s critically acclaimed companion album DARKFIGHTER. LIGHTBRINGER is available for pre-order / pre-save now [album art / tracklisting below]. The pre-order includes two vinyl variants - Lemonade & Black - as well as a CD version.
As an album standout, “Mercy” illuminates the group’s uncanny knack for dynamics. Howling vocals toss and turn over a hulking guitar riff. Lyrically, it confronts pain passed down from one generation to the next as vocalist Jay Buchanan bemoans, “You know that anger moves like electricity.”
Regarding “Mercy,” Jay elaborated, ““It’s so conductive, the way trauma moves from person to person. Anger moves like electricity in a similar way, once it gets inside you it immediately seeks transmission to latch onto someone or something else. The verses have this cyclical friction to them and it brought this to mind; inherited trauma and its vicious, silent grip. Breaking these cycles begins with recognition and I wanted to sing about that. Try a little mercy, mercy never lets you down.”
Guitarist Scott Holiday shared, “It’s time to reveal yet another track (the last before release day!) from LIGHTBRINGER! This round, we are sharing the song entitled: “Mercy.” A song that deals with internal struggle and trying to connect with our ‘higher’ selves... to turn that energy within the struggle into something better. Musically this was a song we started very early in the writing process... Working with a similar tone that I used on the track “Mirrors” from DARKFIGHTER. Yet, we didn’t complete this song until the end of recording all the others. Like so many of the riffs I write, I hear the drums / groove immediately, and it’s equally important / integral to the riff. Miley delivers a pretty deadly and infectious groove to accompany my guitar. One of the coolest drum / riff moments of both records in my opinion. I love the minimalism Jay attacks the song with, really drives the message home for me. Also an inspired guitar solo, which I cut at home in my own studio. Please enjoy “Mercy.”
Moreover, it lands in the wake of the upbeat and undeniable “Sweet Life” – available on all streaming platforms. Right out of the gate, it gathered over 376K Spotify streams and counting. Beyond plugs from Consequence of Sound, Classic Rock Magazine, and many more, American Songwriter praised, “The heavy subject matter at the heart of Lightbringer is temporarily lifted on their latest single, “Sweet Life,” adding “the groovy cut offers an energizing escape from every day worries.”
Rival Sons recently concluded a North America tour with The Smashing Pumpkins. Scott Holiday states: “It could not have been a bigger pleasure for me. As a teenage guitar player, the Pumpkins were one of the biggest influences on me. Gish and Siamese in particular. And getting to watch these guys own it every night and the to become friends, it was incredible. Good vibes all summer long!”
Rival Sons will be touring through the end of 2023 returning to Europe in October with a run of sold out shows. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below.
About LIGHTBRINGER, Scott said, “When you do two albums back-to-back like this, there are a lot of things to think about. The first record has to pack enough of a punch and tell enough of a story for the second half to have an even bigger impact. We balanced them out with energy and meaning, but the follow-up always needed to deliver a bigger blow. I think LIGHTBRINGER provides this.”
Jay added, “DARKFIGHTER is a new Rival Sons, and LIGHTBRINGER is the clear definition of what we are now. We broke ground on DARKFIGHTER, but LIGHTBRINGER is a step beyond the personal innovation and exploration. It goes a little further. We really took everything into our own hands and pushed to see how far we could go. It was a self-exploration to see who we were and who we’ll be now. We had more friction and compromise than ever, because we isolated the bare essence of where we needed to go—and then we went there.”
Rival Sons crafted DARKFIGHTER and LIGHTBRINGER during the same sessions over the course of 2021. Once again, they recorded with creative confidant and longtime producer Dave Cobb behind the board. The band initially dropped DARKFIGHTER to unanimous tastemaker praise earlier this summer. Classic Rock attested, “DARKFIGHTER might just be Rival Sons’ masterpiece,” and GLIDE Magazine enthused, “DARKFIGHTER is a lean hard rock album that condenses what Rival Sons does well into a brief attack.” At the same time, they have piled up millions of streams across the likes of “Nobody Wants To Die,” “Bird in the Hand,” “Rapture,” and more.
TOUR DATES
9/23 Clarkston, MI Riff Fest^
9/24 Louisville, KY Louder Than Life 2023^
10/13 London, UK The Roundhouse
10/14 Newcastle, UK NX [SOLD OUT]
10/16 Glasgow, UK Barrowland Ballroom
10/17 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy
10/18 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy [SOLD OUT]
10/20 Cambridge, UK Cambridge Corn Exchange
10/21 O2 Academy Bristol, UK [SOLD OUT]
10/22 Southampton, UK O2 Guildhall
10/24 Nantes, France La Carrière
10/25 Lyon, France Le Radiant
10/27 Paris, France Olympia [SOLD OUT]
10/28 Lausanne, Switzerland Les Docks [SOLD OUT]
10/29 Milan, Italy Alcatraz
10/31 Vienna, Austria Gasometer
11/1 Zurich, Switzerland X-TRA
11/2 Munich, Germany Theaterfabrik [SOLD OUT]
11/4 Prague, Czech Republic Lucerna Music Bar [SOLD OUT]
11/5 Warsaw, Poland Klub Stodola
11/6 Poznan, Poland Music Club B17
11/8 Berlin, Germany Huxleys
11/9 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg Max [SOLD OUT]
11/10 Cologne, Germany Kantine [SOLD OUT]
11/12 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique [SOLD OUT]
11/13 Hamburg, Germany Grosse Freiheit 36
11/14 Copenhagen, Denmark The Grey Hall
11/16 Bergen, Norway Forum Scene
11/17 Oslo, Norway Sentrum Scene [SOLD OUT]
11/18 Stockholm, Sweden B-K
11/20 House of Culture Helsinki, Finland
11/21 Tampere, Finland Tampere Hall
10/13 - 11/21 – European Headline Tour
*Headline
^Festival Appearance
