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A TAV Curator’s Pick.

“The Budos Band return with Burnt Offering; a wild, booze-fueled ride of hazy riffs, take-no-prisoners horn lines and relentless percussion that summons the occult – an evolved sound for this mighty 10-piece band sparked by their love of Black Sabbath and Pentagram. Burnt Offering was recorded live in the studio, engineered and produced by Thomas Brenneck, a founding member and guitarist in The Budos Band who runs Dunham Records and Studios. It was written at the band’s longtime Staten Island studio, where they’ve gathered for weekly rehearsals for over fifteen years. The haunting album cover was created by drummer Brian Profilio, a NYC public school art teacher. The new album is dripping with the psychedelic sounds of early heavy metal fused with the tight-knit propulsion of Fela Kuti. “The Sticks” kicks off with a snarling riff seamlessly” – Daptone Records

When it came time to title their new album, one decision was easy: “This isn’t The Budos Band IV,” proclaims drummer Brian Profilio. “This isn’t just more of the same.” The Budos Band embarked on an experimental journey since the release of The Budos Band III in 2010, seeking inspiration from sources far and wide. While wizards use books of spells and alchemy to mix their masterful potions, the Budos employ heavy doses of continent-spanning psychedelic rock to beckon the occult and conjure the supernatural. Hence the title of the band’s fourth album: Burnt Offering.

Like a cratedigger’s classic from a parallel universe, “Tomahawk” melds heavy, distorted guitar riffs with bright blasts of brass and bubbling drums. An eerie, ceremonial vibe awakens the slumbering giant “Into The Fog” and prods it to life. Driven by melodies, rhythms, and changes that animate muscle and bone to move, yet compel the ear to lean in closer, these full-bodied instrumentals push Budos’ music deeper into new territory.

All lingering traces of touchstones of yore - be they Fela Kuti, Dyke and the Blazers, or Black Sabbath - have been wholly absorbed and filtered through the Budos Band’s ever-evolving aesthetic. “We sound nothing like our first record anymore,” confirms Profilio. Anyone content to just slap the old “Staten Island Afro-soul” tag on Burnt Offering and move on clearly didn’t listen to the music first.

The group composed more than two dozen songs in the course of making Burnt Offering, yet only recorded fifteen, further distilling its essence to ten classic cuts for the full-length release. If a new tune failed to capture the rambunctious energy of their live show, if it revised familiar territory or obvious influences, it got cut. Budos was determined to break new ground.

Capturing the intensity of Budos’ electrifying shows on wax, making the grooves vibrate with excitement, was one of the biggest challenges of Burnt Offering. “We record live to tape, with minimal effects,” Brenneck says. Nowhere to hide, then. The band insisted that each song push the envelope. No room for filler. The Budos have traveled far and wide - playing across four continents - since the band’s inception. A lifetime of world tours and weekly rehearsals went into the making of Burnt Offering, and the journey is far from over. As long as there are new audiences to thrill and sonic frontiers to explore, they’ll forge ahead. “We haven’t fulfilled our mission,” concludes Profilio. “We’re still very hungry.” – Press Release | TheBudos.Com

“After three albums of uniformly excellent, Afrofunk-fueled instrumentals, where were the Budos Band to go? The New York ensemble’s fourth album is called Burnt Offering—and from its wizard-sporting cover on down, it draws heavily from the late-60s/early-70s well of dark, arcane proto-metal.” – Pitchfork

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