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FUCKED UP Completes the Zodiac Cycle with “Year Of The Rooster”
FUCKED UP Closes Zodiac Cycle With Roosters
FUCKED UP will release “Year Of The Rooster”, the final chapter in the Zodiac Cycle series that began with “Year Of The Dog” in 2006, on November 13 via Tankcrimes. Two tracks from the album, which also completes the band’s “Grass Can Move Stones” trilogy, are now available to stream.
The album serves as the final chapter of a narrative spanning roughly two decades of the band’s songwriting. In “Year Of The Rooster”, the characters Monkey and Good Goat encounter immortal Roosters in a primordial world at the dawn of creation, capable of viewing different eras of the universe through a lens known as “The River Of Time”. At the heart of the story are cosmic horror and existential conflict, alongside ideas of humility and devotion in the face of a reality that appears impossible to overcome.
The narrative is also shaped by an extensive guest cast that goes far beyond FUCKED UP’s regular lineup. Vocals from Tuka Mohammed and Damian Abraham are joined by sections featuring Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag) and Debsey Wykes (Dolly Mixture). Morris and Wykes portray the characters 1000 Year Old Monkey and 1000 Year Old Goat, respectively.
Other guests on the album include Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Chris Hansell (Warthog), John Brannon (Negative Approach), Mac Kennedy (Poison Ruin), Graeme Mackinnon (Home Front), Charlie Manning Walker (Chubby And The Gang, The Chisel), Isla Craig, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Carson McHone, opera singer Amy Gottung, actor Julian Richings, Heidi Hazelton and Zak Quiram. Moore and Hansell take on the roles of the underworld spies Mr. Eye and Mr. Time, while Brannon appears as Jade Monkey.
The musical framework of “Year Of The Rooster” also contains direct references to FUCKED UP’s discography. Songwriting elements from the eras of “Hidden World” and “The Chemistry Of Common Life” are reused in new contexts, with Thin Lizzy-style guitar harmonies, ELO and Queen-influenced vocal layers, Ulver’s dark approach and South Of Heaven-era SLAYER influences coming together within the same framework. Acoustic sections, sludge passages and melodic parts with an indie character also emerge as components of this broad musical palette.
The album’s announcement arrived alongside the release of two new tracks. FUCKED UP’s ‘Good Goat Saw A Leaf’ is available to stream here, while ‘I Hear The Hooves’ is available via this link.
“Year Of The Rooster” will be released physically as a 2xLP in several limited variants. The Tankcrimes-exclusive version will be an “Algae” marbled pressing limited to 200 copies, while the splattered version will be limited to 300 copies and the gold pressing will be produced as a FUCKED UP exclusive edition limited to 500 copies. Details of the 1,000-copy retail-exclusive variant have yet to be announced. Physical pre-orders are available here, while digital pre-orders can be made through FUCKED UP’s Bandcamp page.
The tracklist for “Year Of The Rooster” consists of four songs: ‘Clear Is The Mirror’, ‘Havoc In Heaven’, ‘Grass Can Move Stones’ and ‘Calming Winds And Waves’. The album will be released on November 13 via Tankcrimes.
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