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Heathen Apostles to Play Tomorrow’s Ghosts Halloween 2025

Heathen Apostles to Play Tomorrow’s Ghosts Halloween 2025

+++UPDATE: The Friday night show (the night the Heathen Apostles are playing) sold out in three days, hopefully all that wanted one got a ticket, see you there!+++ Dia de los Muertos announcement: The Heathen Apostles are proud to announce that they’ll be playing the renowned UK gothic festival Tomorrow’s Ghosts Halloween 2025 – Oct. 31st, 2025. Headlining that evening will be one of the original bands that represented the Gothic Western style – Fields of the Nephilim. Clan of Xymox and Pink Turns Blue are also appearing on what will be a powerfully memorable evening. Tickets go on sale on Monday, November 4th at 12:00 (GMT), we really can’t see this evening not selling out, so on the 4th grab your tickets while you can. Use this ticket link on the day: https://tinyurl.com/55zcpmj2

Heathen Apostles to Play Tomorrow’s Ghosts Halloween 2025

Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival was established in 2018 by Absinthe Promotions and is held at the Whitby pavilion annually. TGF’s previous events have seen the following acts grace their stage: The Mission, The Loveless, The 69 Eyes, New Model Army, Fields Of The Nephilim, Peter Hook & The Light, Theatre Of Hate, Cold Cave, The March Violets AND Clan Of Xymox.

Heathen Apostles to Play Tomorrow’s Ghosts Halloween 2025

Fields of the Nephilim is the creation of vocalist and front man Carl McCoy, a seeker of the greater truth, who sprang from humble beginnings in south London. Brought up in a religious environment, Carl became familiar with the stories of the Watchers and Nephilim at a very early age. Unquestionably, this influenced his decision to pursue a creative career in art and music which embraced the world of the occult and portrayed it through his own apocalyptic fusion of Victorian underworld meets Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western, Fields of the Nephilim’s emerging brand of dark aural delights – expressed in tracks such as ‘Trees come down’, ‘Power’, ‘Preacher Man’ and ‘Dawnrazor’. The Nephilim continue to create their uncompromising form of visual and aural art. Prepare yourself to continue what has become a way of life to countless followers of the fallen faith with the scheduled release of new material, as well as announcements regarding a more adventurous audio-visual project.

Heathen Apostles Appearance at Boomtown Festival

The Heathen Apostles are happy to announce that they’ll be appearing at the Boomtown Festival in Winchester, UK. The Heathen Apostles appearance at Boomtown will be on the Fogger’s Mill stage on Sunday 11 August at 18:00 (6pm). This will be the last date of their 2024 UK tour.

Heathen Apostles Appearance at Boomtown Festival
Boomtown (also known as Boomtown Fair) is a British music festival held annually on the Matterley Estate in South Downs National Park, near Winchester, Hampshire. It was first held in 2009 and has been held at its current site since 2011. Its diverse line-up of bands, DJs and speakers perform on many different stages each a part of a district with its own individual theme. Each yearly event is known as a Chapter and expands on the story line from the previous year, told through the sets, live actors and many forms of alternate reality games. The festival site is split into several districts, and the narrative is reflected in the design of the districts, streets and venues, which are populated by hundreds of actors to play the role of inhabitants. The large scale of the sets and infrastructure require six weeks of construction, and a month of disassembly.
The event is centered around a set of common beliefs and principles, mainly supporting the progressive ideas of environmentalism and social equality, as set out in its vision code, The Six Pillars of Boomtown.

Great Review For Dark Roots and Gothic Country Heathen Apostles

Just days before embarking on their upcoming UK tour, the Los Angeles dark roots and Gothic country group Heathen Apostles unveiled their latest highly anticipated seventh album, showcasing their distinctive blend of Bluegrass, Country and Blues.

Dark Roots and Gothic Country Group Heathen Apostles

These are great times to be a fan of the Heathen Apostles. Their new album arrives and any day soon they begin their second, and most extensive, tour of the UK. We have championed them for a few years now and though they are by no means a Celtic-Punk band their music straddles Bluegrass, murderfolk, Gothic and spaghetti western alongside more mundane genres that are mundane no more after being filtered through the Heathen Apostles Southern Gothic Americana. The In Between is the groups seventh studio album and is released on Ratchet Blade Records. The label run by Chopper Franklin, ex- Cramps bassist, that specialises in this kind of music.

Heathen Apostles - Dark Roots and Gothic CountryYou could be forgiven for thinking Heathen Apostles hail from the foothills of the Appalachian mountains rather than LA but their music conveys such great imagery it’s hard to imagine them wandering the streets of LA on foot rather than horse! Superbly produced by Chopper Franklin, The In Between features nine original songs rounded up to ten with a cover of the Mark Lanegan (1964-2022) track ‘The Gravedigger’s Song’ from his 2012 album Blues Funeral.

Singer Mather Louth states,

“The idea of the ‘in between’ is all about learning to sit with- and eventually befriend- the uncomfortable times of not knowing what is coming next, either within one’s own life or within the collective. Uncertainty is a very ungrounding sensation, and the emotions that arise from that discomfort can be challenging to navigate. Exploring this sense of uncertainty proved cathartic for me, and I hope it will offer that same release for listeners.”

Dark Roots and Gothic Country Group Heathen Apostles

Heathen Apostles left to right: Thomas Lorioux – Double Bass * Mather Louth – Vocals * Chopper Franklin – Mandolin / Banjo / Guitar / Drums/ Vocal * Luis Mascaro – Fiddle *

The In Between kicks off with the startling title track and the double bass and mandolin lead into Luis Mascaro’s alluringly dark violin. Blessed with the voice to accompany the Heathen Apostles music the beautiful Mather Louth uses her vocals as an instrument to round out the sound.

“Here I stand | The in between | A pregnant pause | In everything | What falls away | Was meant to be | What lies ahead | Is yet to see”

The music may be dark and somewhat gloomy but it’s not without lighter touches and Mather’s voice is simply a wonder to listen to. Recorded at the beginning of 2024, it truly embodies its title by balancing between darkness and light and the tangible past and the uncertain future. From the opening song you can sense the Country roots here and on ‘Capital T’ like some Goth hoedown as Mather proclaims

“don’t tell me that it’s wine and roses…what rose smells like that”

during the chorus. Bands like Calexico have made a career touching upon western themes and landscapes but compared to what we have hear their music can be described as twee. ‘The Gods Of Men’ takes the Spaghetti Western theme and runs with it with a song whose lightness betrays its subject matter. ‘Coffin For The Nail’ sees Mather and Chopper spitting out the words through a world weary exhausted drawl as you can almost feel the dust blown across your face. ‘Deama’ sees Chopper’s mandolin and Mascaro’s fiddle carrying the song as Mather tells of a scorned woman. ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ sees a more lighthearted approach and sees those Country influences rise to the top. the band shift gears next for ‘In The Blood’, a song more reminiscent of their early days with it’s speedy tempo during the chorus and slowed down verses while Mather’s howls add to the effect. The one cover here, ‘The Gravediggers Song’, sees them stick fairly closely to the stunning Mark Lanegan original. Lanegan’s barely disguised aggression in the song is replaced by Mather’s dazzling vocals and delicate French whispers, emphasising the song’s dark beauty. We are nearing the end sadly and sorrowful violin and banjo carry ‘Love Letter’ while the curtain comes down on The In Between with ‘He Stood Tall’ and the sound of a thunderstorm as the song takes in honky tonk piano and another great song sees the album out.

Dark Roots and Gothic Country Group Heathen Apostles

 

The Heathen Apostles first toured the UK this time last year and they are returning again. Kicking off in Reading on July 17th and London the following day at The Lexington the tour includes a three day residency (August 5th – 7th) at Edinburgh, Scotland’s Fringe Festival. A review of last year’s Lexington show – “As if plucked from a surreal spaghetti western, Mather Louth and Chopper Franklin made quite the spectacle, striding down London’s Pentonville Road in full regalia… The Heathen Apostles had etched themselves into our dark hearts, ensuring their spectral melodies and mystical storytelling would stay with us long after the last note had faded into the night.” Dates not be missed so check the bands social media for up to date announcements.

Heathen Apostles LP Review – Grit-Drenched Vibe

Just six months in from the powerful impact of Chopper Franklin’s “Spaghetti Western Dub Vol. 1,” an album I’ve listened to heavily all year, I have to admit that I was already pining for more. The grit-drenched vibe was exactly what I had been ready for and in Mather Louth, I had discovered a vocalist who had jumped to the front of the queue of my favorites. The brassy, defiant timbre she brought to that album had me wanting more, and as if on cue, here is the follow up.
This time it’s from the Heathen Apostles mothership from whence the Spaghetti Western Dub project launched. The band is fascinated by probing the very darkest Country music in a time when the genre is content to replicate the horror of The Eagles…with gated drums… and vague nods of a token slide guitar or a nasal-voiced singer as vestigial callbacks to actual Country music [Monk spits in dust]. That dreck is a far cry from what The Heathen Apostles serve up on their “lucky” seventh full length album, “The In Between.”

Heathen Apostles - grit-drenched vibe
Ratchet Blade Records | US | CD | 2024

Double bass and mandolin allowed a spirited violin to flourish in the intro to the title track. Mather Louth showed here that she had what it took to be a classic Country vocalist even as distorted rock guitar from Chopper Franklin edged into the song following the middle eight, but the music bed here was mostly acoustic instruments. Luis Mascaro’s violin [you could call it a fiddle and I wouldn’t flinch] was just getting started in this program as his dexterous playing was adding substantial melodic filigree into the dusky fabric of the song.

As “Capital T” proved beyond the shadow of a doubt with its hoedown intro that had Mascaro leading the song by the nose with his busy violin. Ms. Louth was excoriating a guy who was definitely trouble and cut through his song and dance by claiming “don’t tell me that it’s wine and roses…what rose smells like that” in the vicious chorus. Making sure to bite down on the lyric hard when repeating it twice in the song’s climax as she snarled the lyric like a panther.

There was room for a little more Spaghetti Western goodness with “The Gods Of Men” with its stately march tempo and acoustic guitars. The violin was playing a textural role here, teaming with the banjo and mandolin as Ms. Louth proffered a delicate proclamation of the philosophical lyric.

Following a surprising lowing bass synthesizer, “Coffin For The Nail” featured a mournful duet of banjo and mandolin as Chopper and Mather joined in with their distorted voices. Circling each other like feral cats in a hellish call and response. Mather sounded like she was going for a vintage PJ Harvey meets Steve Albini vibe here with the fatalistic tune enlightened only by the violin snaking out of the dark heart of the song with a solo before the foreboding middle eight.

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Mau Maus and the Punk Rock Riot at the Hong Kong Cafe

Mau Maus - Punk Rock Riot

The Mau Maus’ Nickey Beat, Rick Wilder, Scott “Chopper” Franklin, Michael Livingston

On New Year’s Eve of 1980, the Mau Maus played main support to Fear at the last night of the first wave of shows at the Hong Kong Café. Also on the bill were the Circle Jerks and Angry Samoans, and the ensuing punk rock riot was a fitting end to a legendary run of shows at the club. Now, PBS has done an episode of Artbound featuring the Hong Kong Café and its running battle with the competing Madam Wong’s Restaurant. The following is part of the episode’s preview.

Mau Maus - Punk Rock Riot

The Weirdo’s Dix Denny and Rick Wilder fight outside the Hong Kong Cafe

The shows and audiences could get chaotic, but it was all worth it to draw bigger crowds into Central Plaza. Bigger crowds meant more money spent at the bar and in the restaurant. And although it was mainly a business decision for owner Bill Hong, the Hong Kong Cafe ended up becoming hugely important to the punk scene. The blood-soaked shows were working — kids who had to be turned away at the door were scaling the roof and breaking in through the air conditioning ducts.

Mau Maus and the Punk Rock RiotOne person who was not a fan of the Hong Kong’s chaotic, punk-loving vibe was Esther Wong. In the beginning, Esther was actually quoted in the LA Times welcoming the competition in Chinatown, but that attitude changed very quickly. Tensions grew. On one side of the courtyard was Esther Wong and her skinny-tie-wearing new wave bands, and on the other was the Hong Kong and the punks. The LA press got wind of this tension in Chinatown and stoked the flames of the feud. The local media gave the whole clash a nickname that was probably intended to be snappy, but exposed the underlying racism lurking below the surface: the Wonton Wars.

Mau Maus and the Punk Rock Riot

Fear’s Lee Ving and the Mau Mau’s Rick Wilder and the Hong Kong Cafe 12/31/80

Punk music in Chinatown burned bright, but it burned fast. Within a few years, the genre had evolved and by 1981 bands like the Bags, The Alley Cats, and the Dils who helped define the sound of first wave LA punk had drifted out of the scene. Punk wasn’t dying, but it *was* changing. The music was being overtaken by hardcore bands and audiences. It was faster, harder, more aggressive, and tended to bring in a very different crowd. Madame Wong’s managed to survive punk and the introduction of MTV in the early 80s, but the bottom line is that even if you were successful, there wasn’t a lot of money in running rock clubs. After a while, the hassle just wasn’t worth it anymore.

Heathen Apostles’ “Black Hawk” Video – Western Goth Influences

Heathen Apostles - Western Goth Influences

Filmed during their inaugural 2023 Summer UK Tour, the Heathen Apostles’ video for “Black Hawk” serves as a closing chapter of sorts for the band’s Bloodgrass Vol. 3&4 release in anticipation of their forthcoming album The In Between. Showing their Gothic Western influences by using the stark solitude of the thirteenth century St. Bartholomew’s Church in Shapwick, the video offers a visual complement to the moodiness of the introspective track with the Heathen men in their signature spectral mourning garb and Mather paying homage to the song’s transformational themes through the use of moth wings.

Heathen Apostles - Western Goth InfluencesSpeaking upon the song itself, singer Mather Louth states, “Black Hawk is by far one of the most personal songs I have written to date. While I prefer to leave specific interpretation up to the listener, I will say that the lyrics speak to offering yourself grace through the sometimes challenging process of growth and metamorphosis. The song is sort of an incantation and a personal hymn, and so, it seemed appropriate to perform it within the hushed calm of an ancient house of worship.”

Special thanks to Nathan Demsden for assistance with filming, and to Hawkeye Houlihan for location scouting and filming arrangements.

BLACK HAWK

(Mather Louth / Chopper Franklin)

I ran from the loss
I ran from the grief
I ran from the dark
That called from the deep
Leviathan beckoned
I fled from the shore
Spent all those years running
I can’t run no more

CHORUS
I do believe I’ll be taking my time
Already grieved for what’s no longer mine
Granted reprieve from what no longer aligns
Walking the line and trusting the signs for
The timing’s divine

The years I kept struggling
Inside of my head
My feet kept on running
Inside I was dead
I welcomed my shadow
Embraced with a kiss
My sister of midnight
No longer submiss

Peeling back layers
And honoring scars
Shining a light
On the depths of my heart
I tend to the fractures
And fill them with gold
Imperfect perfection
A new leaf unfolds

CHORUS

BRIDGE
How many days lost to anger and shame
How many nights holding myself to blame
How many links till I’m breaking the chain
Piece by piece and link by link

How many years did I make myself small
How many tears did I have to watch fall
How many swings til I’m breaking the wall
Brick by brick and swing by swing

Heathen Apostles 2024 Follow Up to Gothic Americana UK Tour

The Heathen Apostles (Mather Louth, Chopper Franklin, Thomas Lorioux and Luis Mascaro) have just announced the final dates for their 2024 UK Tour, it is the follow up to their Gothic Americana UK Tour of 2023. Here is the social media release they have posted today:

Here is the poster announcing the dates for our 2024 UK tour; some venues we played last year, as well as several new ones. We’ve also been fortunate to be invited to some great festivals this year as well: three nights at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival @edfringe, two days at Dorset’s Camp Bestival @campbestival, the Endorset in Dorset Festival @endorsetfestivalofficial and our last show of the tour at a festival that has yet to announce their line up.

Thanks to our booking agent Dana McDonald Oxaal for putting this together, and to Hawkeye Houlihan for assisting us in many ways that only he can. And to all the Heathens who have shown up to the shows, no matter what the weather and conditions; we can’t wait to see you all! Also a shout to Vince Ray for the awesome poster artwork; you can also get this design on a T shirt at our merch booth!”

Heathen Apostles Gothic Americana UK tour

 

Heathen Apostles 2024 UK Tour Dates

Wed. 17 July Reading, The Face Bar

Thu. 18 July London, The Lexington

Fri. 19 July  Canterbury, The Anchor Inn

Sat. 20 July Norwich, The Reindeer

Sun. 21 July Brighton, The Hope and Ruin

Tue. 23 July Hastings, The Jenny Lind

Wed. 24 July Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms

Thu. 25 July Bournemouth, The Bear Cave

Fri. 26  July Frome, The Tree House

Sat. 27  July Lulworth, Dorset, Camp Bestival

Sun. 28 July Lulworth, Dorset, Camp Bestival

Wed. 31 July Bridgwater, Cobblestones

Thur. 1 Aug. Dorchester, Endorset Festival

Fri. 2 Aug. Birmingham, The Victoria

Sat. 3 Aug. Manchester, Castle Hotel

Mon. 5 Aug. Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms, Fringe Festival

Tue. 6 Aug. Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms, Fringe Festival

Wed. 7 Aug. Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms, Fringe Festival

Thu. 8 Aug. Glasgow, McChuills

Fri. 9 Aug. Newcastle, Cluny 2

Sat. 10 Aug. Festival (Not Yet Announced)

Heathen Apostles Gothic Americana UK tour