His Name is Alive released 'Tecuciztecatl,' going on 25th Anniversary tour in 2015 (dates, streams)

by Bill Pearis

“Michigan’s finest,” His Name is Alive, released their 14th album, Tecuciztecatl, last month via Light in The Attic (they’re not just reissues). It’s a rock opera heavy on Thin Lizzy-style twin guitar leads (heavily researched, actually) and a pitch-black plot:

…imagined vaguely in the shape of a 1969 Hammer horror film: bloody, British, gothic, and brimming with beguiling and attractive vampires. The songs are written from the perspective of five characters: the mother, the doctor, the twins and the librarian whose side hustle is demon hunting. The story begins with a young woman getting an ultrasound who discovers she’s pregnant with twins. Realizing something is going terribly wrong, “I think I’m missing something on the inside,” she visits a local library for research. The librarian instructs the woman on how to kill the demon baby without harming the other twin, and together they carry out the various rituals necessary. Eventually one baby is born.

For those who aren’t paying too much attention to the narrative, guiding force Warren DeFevre continues to make the music equally engaging. You can stream “African Violet Casts a Spell” from the LP below and stream the whole thing via Spotify.

Celebrating their 25th anniversary next year (the first half of their career as one of 4AD’s signature artists), HNIA will be on tour in 2015, including NYC at Rough Trade on February 10. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (11/14) at noon.

All tour dates, plus streams, below…

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His Name is Alive – 2014 Tour Dates
Feb 06 – Cleveland OH @ Grog Shop
Feb 07 – Philadelphia PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Feb 09 – Boston MA @ Great Scott
Feb 10 – Brooklyn NY @ Rough Trade
Feb 12 – Washington DC @ Black Cat Backstage
Feb 14 – Detroit MI @ Magic Stick
Mar 29 – New Orleans LA @ Circle Bar
Mar 31 – Denton TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
Apr 01 – Austin TX @ The Mohawk
Apr 03 – Phoenix AZ @ Valley Bar
Apr 04 – San Diego CA @ Casbah
Apr 05 – Los Angeles CA @ The Echo
Apr 07 – San Francisco CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Apr 10 – Portland OR @ Doug Fir
Apr 11 – Seattle WA @ Barboza
Apr 15 – Minneapolis MN @ 7th Street Entry
Apr 16 – Chicago IL @ Schubas