NEW YORK (Sanctuary Records) - GZR, the quartet led by legendary
Black Sabbath bass guitarist and lyricist Geezer Butler, will release its new studio album Ohmwork through Sanctuary Records on May 10, 2005. Ohmwork is Butler's first album in eight years.
The 10 songs on Ohmwork are "Misfit," "Pardon My Depression," "Prisoner 103," "I Believe," "Aural Sects," "Pseudocide," "Pull The String," "Alone," "Dogs Of Whore" and "Don't You Know." "
I Believe" is the first single.
Butler is joined by vocalist Clark Brown and guitarist Pedro Howse, his longtime collaborators, and new drummer Chad Smith. Ohmwork is Butler's third solo band release. His first project under the GZR banner was 1995's Plastic Planet while 1997's Black Science was credited to Geezer. Howse has worked on all three albums. Brown performed on Black Science.
"I feel that this album is more like our first album, Plastic Planet. On this album I wanted to strip everything down to the bare essentials, so every song would have a live band feel, which I think we achieved.'
The band went hurtling into the studio with a hectic 10-day recording schedule. 'There's a spirit of spontaneity and freshness that can only be achieved when you approach a record in that manner,' recalls Geezer. 'It's the way the first two Sabbath albums were done. Black Sabbath was recorded in two days and Paranoid took a week and that's what I wanted with my new record – 10 days done 'n' dusted.'
A potent, tangible band dynamic is crucial for Butler. He does not ever want an album credited to "Geezer Butler" when it is a true band effort.
"It's important to me that we have a band identity, because the album is a band collaboration. Everyone brings their own specialties to the songs, and we all know our capabilities, and we all work extremely hard together," Butler says.
Butler is proud of the fact that GZR's music appeals to both young metal fans as well as Black Sabbath fans. He attributes this fact about cross-generational appeal to heavy metal's very essence.
GZR touring plans are being put together for Fall 2005.
