I've been absent from the Internets because, quite frankly, I was pretty sure the end of the world was nigh with all the utter crap going on in UK politics and abroad. When you are watching a government shut down one of the most important series of protests from the last 30 years, it makes you fairly immune to seeing the beauty in other things. My inspiration was disabled, so to speak.
It was going to take something pretty frickin' loud to snap me out of it.
And then, along came Reign of Terror.
Hell yeah, Sleigh Bells are back! It's incredulous that it has taken me this long to express my undying, unwavering, unbridled passion for this band. Alexis Krauss pretty much changed my life the first time I saw her jump into the crowd at Audio - after she and bandmate Derek Miller had exploded our ear drums, that is. I'm going to make a bold assertion now: Sleigh Bells are one of the greatest bands of my lifetime. It's probably a naïve belief, but they seem like one of the only real bands we've got. With none of the BS that surrounds other new acts (they have tweeted the grand total of once, which was today, to post up the website of the new album. No "Hi, x-amount of thousand tweeps! How you doin' today?" nonsense. Just the url. THAT'S IT.)
So, Treats pretty much ruled the end of 2009 and early 2010. The combination of Derek's hardcore guitars and Alexis' sweet warblings are simply addictive - not to mention riffs that threaten to break your speakers. My love for them was so strong that I think I had to physically stop myself from playing that album on repeat for the rest of my life; gotta give some of my other favourite bands at look in, at least. Also, Treats is something that should be saved for just that, a treat. A sweet n'sour audio brain freeze that leaves you feeling all tingly inside. But one that could genuinely damage your hearing if that is all you listen to *ahem*. I had to go cold turkey and block them out of my brain for a bit - short of when I looked like a crazy lady at Reading as I shouted to a complete stranger "I love your t-shirt!!" with regards to his "Slay Fucking Bells" attire, I haven't thought about my American dreamteam in a little while.
So today, I sleepily stumble onto my F.AM train to London, looking like a homeless because I have got the dreaded winter lurg and was wearing no makeup in protest against the germs that had invaded my face (attractEEve), I peel open my eyes and look at Twitter. And there it is, the greatest news I have heard all week, from @Spin magazine: Sleigh Bells release trailer for new album Reign of Terror.
Reign of Terror? REIGN OF TERROR? Why has this insanely great title never been used for a record before? (Apologies, 'Embrace Distruction', I know you released an LP called that in 2009 but I'm not counting you) Even abbreviated it's good. Reign of Terror = R.O.T. Alexis and Derek, you is the coolest. And let's talk about the video. On it's own, exclusive website, the video plays the usual Sleigh Bells trick of acting all quiet for a second then BAM! Oh, we're gonna hit you in the face with some really, really loud guitar which is going to make you jump out of your skin at work. And here's Alexis, looking like the Bond villain babe from Hell. In all seriousness, just watching it makes my heart beat faster. If I'm going to lose another year of my life to Sleigh Bells, 2012 cannot come quick enough.
WATCH IT HERE:
GL
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