The Third Eye

French space rockers SLIFT are back with a new single called “Ilion” off a forthcoming record of the same name, which will drop on January 19, 2024, via the legendary Sub Pop Records. The band has always pursued ambitious concepts, but Ilion promises to be their most artistically epic to date.

Ilion will be the band’s third full-length release, which the Bandcamp description says “feels massive and oceanic, merging the furious intensity of metal and the wigged-out guitar heroics of psych rock with post-rock’s epic sense of scale.” 

SLIFT is a group intrigued by many literary concepts – their very name comes from a character in a science fiction novel. Ilion is named after the Ancient Greek word for the city of Troy, and the band says the record was created in the manner of a Homeric story. It picks up where Ummon left off, but “where the two records differ is that Ilion is about human emotions and feelings, whereas Ummon was telling an epic story with a distant view,” SLIFT says. “Ilion represents the fall of humanity and the rebirth of all things in time and space.” Like I said, ambitious.

Sub Pop Records tells us that, musically, the album lives up to the weighty thematic concepts. Ilion comprises eight tracks and 75-plus minutes, where SLIFT unleashes fury with walls of guitar and multi-part song structures. 

So, let’s talk about the new single, “Ilion,” and fully absorb this madness. The track is eleven minutes and eight seconds long and shows the heavier psych-metal side of the band. Their signature growling vocals are there, and the swirling guitars pummel and dazzle simultaneously. SLIFT allows plenty of room for jamming and their usual space-flight explorations; “Ilion” has a massive sound that sometimes feels overwhelming, like it’s about to burst at the seams.

SLIFT is a power trio comprised of brothers Jean and Remí Fossat, joined by Canek Flores, who initially met the Fossat bros at school. The band formed in 2016 and released their debut EP the following year, Space is The Key, which merged heavy stoner rock with garage rock fury. Since then, SLIFT has been on a meteoric rise in the heavy underground, culminating in a KEXP session in 2019 at the Trans Musicales festival that went viral.

Pre-orders for SLIFT’s Ilion are ready, and the group said in a Bandcamp message that a tour date announcement is coming soon. “Can’t wait to see old and new friends in the pit; we’ll see space again together,” they say. Check out the new single and get those pre-orders in now, folks – this looks to be another excellent addition to SLIFT’s growing catalog.

Support SLIFT by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, or social media (Instagram, Facebook).

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