In Rotation: We The Heathens - The Blood Behind The Dam

We The Heathens bring a crusty folk punk sound to songs that could serve as a backdrop to an epic fantasy series. Violin, cello, mandolin, guitar and bass accompany throaty shouted vocals. All those strings often bring to mind a winding mountain road and an unescapable quest. Before their set at the Slaughterhouse started on Sunday night, We The Heathens warmed up with a little bit of the Game of Thrones theme song. The songs on The Blood Behind The Dam, We The Heathens' third full-length album, are no less epic or evocative. The opening violin riff on "Neurotic Decay" is the folk equivalent of a circle pit starter.

The songs have the most muscle when they build up slowly but steadily into a heated alchemy of strumming fervor and traded screams. Take a crust punk band and stir in a propensity for medieval style fables and you have an idea of what to expect from this release. We The Heathens, from Wasau, Wisconsin, share members with the ska/crack rock steady group Atrocity Solution. The Blood Behind The Dam features guest vocals from Jesse and Veronica of Escape From The Zoo on the song "Crooked Kings."

We The Heathens are currently on a two month long tour with The Suburbanists. They are heading east, south, then west before swinging back around for shows in Mt. Olive, Champaign-Urbana, DeKalb, Kenosha and Madison toward the end of July. Stream The Blood Behind The Dam below and head over to their bandcamp page to show them some support.