El Drugstore

El Drugstore (mem East of the Wall) releasing first LP in 6 years (stream a track)

Earlier this year, NJ prog metallers East of the Wall released their first album in six years, NP-Complete, and now related band El Drugstore (featuring former East of the Wall guitarist/vocalist Kevin Conway and current East of the Wall drummer Seth Rheam) are releasing their first new album in six years, The Golden Age Of Bad Ideas, on November 15 via Nefarious Industries (pre-order). The trio (whose lineup is rounded out by bassist Rolando Alvarado) recorded the album with late-period Dillinger Escape Plan member Kevin Antreassian and East of the Wall/DEP collaborator Chris Alfano. We’re premiering the song “Samaritrophia,” and here’s what Kevin Conway tells us about it:

The title “Samaritrophia” was taken from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut, in which he defined the term as hysterical indifference to the plight of others. It’s tough to say that instrumental songs are necessarily ‘about’ anything, but they’re certainly informed by the world we live in. I think that term captures how our world feels a lot of the time. Musically, this is one of my favorites on the new record because it straddles the heaviness/silliness line we like to walk and is pretty in your face in terms of raw energy. It’s a brief release from living in a cold world that really doesn’t give a shit about you.

That should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from this song, which is equal parts weirdo prog and bone-crushing heaviness. Check it out below.

El Drugstore will celebrate the new album with a release show at NJ’s Atlantic Highlands Arts Council on 11/16 with East of the Wall, Martin Howth, and Kevin Grossman (info). More shows TBA soon.