Before there was Saint Vitus, the bar —Brooklyn, New York’s heavy-metal Mecca — there was Saint Vitus, the band. Legit doom-metal pioneers, the Los Angeles crew defined the genre starting in the late Seventies alongside Pentagram, Witchfinder General, Pagan Altar and Trouble. It’s been seven long years since the group dropped an album of new material (the band issued a live record Live Vol. 2 via Southern Lord in 2016), but that wait is about to end with the imminent release of Saint Vitus’ forthcoming self-titled LP on May 17th. As momentous as that is, the album is notable for yet another reason: It’s the group’s first with original singer Scott Reager in nearly a quarter of a century. The dude helped start Saint Vitus 40 years ago, way back in 1979; he’s popped in and out of the lineup over the years since then, and he sounds gnarly than ever on the lead single off the upcoming record, the eerily titled “12 Years in the Tomb.”
The song also marks the group’s first original material with new bassist Pat Bruders, formerly of Crowbar and currently also of NOLA supergroup Down (you know, the band featuring the unholy assemblage of Pantera’s Phil Anselmo, Corrosion of Conformity’s Pepper Keenan, Eyehategod’s Jimmy Bower and Crowbar’s Kirk Windstein). His low end adds extra rumble to the rip-roaring track, which is helmed by some characteristically epic guitar work courtesy of the band’s stalwart member Dave Chandler. Check out “12 Years in the Tomb” below, and you can pre-order Saint Vitus now via Season of Mist.