US heavy psychedelic rock luminaries DEAD MEADOW have signed to European label Heavy Psych Sounds Records for the release of their new studio full-length and EP, as well as the reissue of their entire back catalog in the spring of 2025.
About joining HPS Records, frontman Jason Simon states: “We are happy to announce that an all-new Dead Meadow LP will be released early next year on the one and only Heavy Psych Sounds Records. Steve, Mark, and I had been working on this record throughout 2023, finishing and tracking the final songs in January of this year. We are excited and extremely thankful to have an entire record featuring Steve’s bass and creative influence to still share with the world.”
Heavy Psych Sounds team adds: “We are really honored to welcome such an incredible band to our roster. We touched base for the first time in 2021 with Dead Meadow bass player Steve and the feelings were great from the first moment. We were devastated when he passed away early this year. We decided to continue the work with Jason and we are sure this collaboration will be very fruitful.“
Dead Meadow’s unique marriage of Sabbath riffs, dreamy layers of guitar-fuzz bliss, and singer Jason Simon’s melodic croon have won over psychedelic pop/rock and stoner rock fans alike. Although the band’s members met while attending all-ages shows in and around Washington, D.C.’s punk/indie scene, the trio draws more of its sound from such classic rock legends as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. The trio formed in the fall of 1998 with singer/guitarist Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The three members set out to fuse their love of early-’70s hard rock and ’60s psychedelia into their distinct sound.
They released their eight-song debut album in 1999. Within a relatively short period, the D.C. trio received offers to tour with everyone from local D.C. acts like The Make-Up and Fugazi to psychedelic rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre. The much-acclaimed debut was quickly followed by 2001’s “Howls from the Hills”, recorded at Stephen McCarty’s (who would later join Dead Meadow) grandparent’s farmhouse in rural Indiana and also released on Tolotta Records. The band signed with Matador Records in early 2003 and released “Shivering King and Others”. Along with the heavy feel and blues-influenced songs, as found on the previous two records, the band incorporated a more layered and dense sound while continuing in psychedelic territory.
With the addition of long-time friend Cory Shane as second guitarist, the band released the “Feathers” LP in 2005 on Matador Records. This record incorporated the heavy sound of Dead Meadow with a somewhat more dreamlike feel and included a great deal of two-guitar interplay between Cory and Jason. 2007 saw the band reverting back to a three-piece and relocating from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, CA. “Old Growth”, the fifth studio album was released in 2008 on Matador Records. In 2010 Dead Meadow released a feature-length live film and soundtrack, “Three Kings”, that spotlighted their live show and included psychedelic dream sequences that follow a loose storyline.
Stephen McCarty left the band and original drummer Mark Laughlin returned. The group spent a long, patient time self-producing and recording 2013’s epic double-album-length release “Warble Womb” on Xemu Records. With the release of “The Nothing They Need” LP in 2018, Steve and Jason celebrate twenty years of Dead Meadow by featuring all the people who have been musically involved with the band over the years.
The 2020 lockdown gave the band some much-needed rest from touring though two live records were released, followed by the “Force Form Free” concept record on Blues Funeral Recordings in 2022. Throughout 2023, Dead Meadow performed sporadically and began work on a new full-length LP for Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The band completed tracking the record in January of 2024, shortly after finding out the terrible news that bass player Steve Kille had been diagnosed with cancer. Though he promptly began chemo, the cancer had progressed too far and was too aggressive to be stopped. Steve Kille passed away on April 14th, 2024 leaving an incredible legacy of utterly unique bass playing, a singular artistic vision, and boundless creativity. Band members, friends, and fans alike were devastated but the outpouring of love for Steve as a musician, friend, and amazing human being was a beautiful thing to see.
The upcoming Heavy Psych Sounds LP was entirely written and recorded with Steve Kille at full capacity, and the band is incredibly thankful to have this special new record to share with the world. It will be released in the spring of 2025, with a first track and preorders to be unveiled very soon.
DEAD MEADOW is
Jason Simon – vocals, guitars
Steve Kille – bass, sitar
Mark Laughlin – drums