Reunited AMEBIX To Embark On U.S. Tour

Reunited UK "crust punk" pioneers AMEBIX — whose current lineup includes STONE SOUR/ex-SOULFLY drummer Roy Mayorga — will embark on a short U.S. tour in January 2009. Confirmed dates are as follows:

Jan. 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Jan. 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Jan. 24 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
Jan. 25 - San Fransisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Jan. 27 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Jan. 29 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Jan. 30 - Boston/Providence @ [to be announced]
Jan. 31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Starlite Ballroom

Tickets and other info can be foud at www.r5productions.com.

AMEBIX was formed in England during 1978 and is considered by many to have started the "crust punk" sub-genre. The band appeared on the first Crass Records "Bullshit Detector" compilation LP with a music style that was heavily influenced by MOTÖRHEAD, BLACK SABBATH, VENOM, and early KILLING JOKE. In 1985 AMEBIX met Jello Biafra of DEAD KENNEDYS and became the first UK signing to his label, Alternative Tentacles. In 1987, AMEBIX signed to Heavy Metal Records for the album "Monolith" (1987),which was recently reissued through Moshpit Tragedy Records as part of the label's sliding-scale download series. The nine-song album is available from the label's web site complete with a print-ready sleeve for as much or as little as each visitor chooses and is even being offered for free to those without a PayPal account.

AMEBIX is currently working on a DVD of rare live footage, tentatively due in early 2009. Entitled "Risen", the disc will also contain documentary interviews with bandmembers past and present and some other people involved with or directly influenced by the group, such as Jello Biafra (ex-DEAD KENNEDYS),NEUROSIS, and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, ex-SEPULTURA). According to AMEBIX bassist/vocalist and founding member Rob "The Baron" Miller, "the rough editing was done in Northern Ireland between myself and Roy [filmmaker Roy Wallace, who was the vocalist for legendary Belfast anarcho-punkers TOXIC WASTE], at which point it became apparent that the story itself was the main emphasis of the project and we discussed the idea of perhaps finishing it by showing that all those involved in AMEBIX are still creating in one way or another and remain true to themselves. I thought it would be good to try and get myself and Stig [guitar, backing vocals] to record a couple of old tracks to see if there was really anything still there, although Spider [AMEBIX drummer, 1985-1987] was not able to play due to having suffered with tinnitus for some years now. I had heard that [drummer] Roy Mayorga [STONE SOUR, ex-SOULFLY, NAUSEA] was a big fan of the band, so I contacted him to see if he might be willing to come and play some songs with us. Roy was up for it so we all flew over to Belfast from the various different parts of the globe for a long weekend of recording and video work. We are very proud of how it came together — very solid, very true, and we look forward to sharing this project with our friends and supporters out there."

In an early 2009 interview with Moshpit-Tragedy.com, Mayorga explained how he got involved with the project: "I was put in contact with Rob through a mutual friend. Her name is Alicia (Morgan, singer for 13 and longtime girlfriend of EYEHATEGOD frontman Mike Williams). We knew each other for years. She contacted me out of the blue and told me that Rob was looking for someone to drum in AMEBIX, but only for the new live video footage. They weren't planning on reforming, really, until after we got together... The chemistry between us all was very undeniable so we just decided from there on to take it a step forward."

Asked if he is pleased with the new recordings and how he thinks the fans will react to hearing the results, Mayorga said, "I think the mixes sound pretty strong and [are] big-sounding. The band and myself are very happy with it. These recordings were made original from the video footage of us playing live. Just to get the facts straight, these recordings were made in a way to show people what AMEBIX would sound like today if and when they were to perform again. How do I think fans will react? Well, some will hate it, some will love it, and that's OK. Everyone has their opinion. I'm personally proud of what we've done together and can't wait to get together again to write new songs. We have some ideas floating around right now as we speak, so expect to hear some new songs from AMEBIX in the future."

For more information, including audio samples of the new recordings, visit www.amebix.net.