Gothic Americana Music

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Red Vinyl Release of the Heathen Apostles Latest Album

Red Vinyl Release of the Heathen Apostles Latest Album “The In Between”Ratchet Blade Records is proud to announce the vinyl LP release of the Heathen Apostles latest album “The In Between”, available in their webstore HERE and on their current European tour (scheduled throughout 2025). It is on red vinyl and features the painting of Chopper Franklin and Mather Louth by the artist Sean Cheetham.

London Celtic Punks wrote in their review of The In Between: “You 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.”

Red Vinyl Release of the Heathen Apostles Latest Album “The In Between” The Post-Punk Monk wrote: “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.”

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.”

“Coffin For The Nail” – Hellbilly Music Video Out Now

“Coffin For The Nail” - hellbilly music video

“Coffin For The Nail” is from the Heathen Apostles’ seventh album “The In Between” (Ratchet Blade Records). The hellbilly music video features co-lead vocals from lead singer Mather Louth and guitarist/mandolinist Chopper Franklin, as well as clips from “The Wolf of Wall Street” (1929), “A Corner in Wheat” (1909) and “Birth of a Nation” (1915) (all Public Domain).

Mather Louth: “This video is a risk. The source footage within it is incredibly unsettling and uncomfortable to view. But, we need to face history and where we’ve come from (and sadly, where we are again.) We want to make it clear that we don’t condone the footage within it- we are holding the mirror up to the underbelly that has always been a part of this country’s history.”

Heathen Apostles - Hellbilly Music Video

Directed by the Heathen Apostles
Camera, Lighting: Robert Nelson
Makeup: Kelton Ching
Mather’s wardrobe: Heathen By Mather Louth
The Villain: Kaine Livesay

Listen to “The In Between” album HERE 
2025 European tour dates HERE 

COFFIN FOR THE NAIL
(Franklin)

Peace out – War in
Take the word of a K Street has-been
Big P, little O
Got down and forgot what you came for
Gold in, Black Hills
Trouble is that it’s not for sale
Goddamn, gee whiz
Is that what honor is?

R – you ready for the feast?
I – got a belly full of beast
P – like the guts in a pail
Got a smoke for the hole and a coffin for the nail

Your shame, straight from the mouth
So proud but your tongue’s stickin’ out
Gotcha paid like any other day
But the people are about to go crazy
Strict Daddy, where ya been?
How long ‘til the fire burns in
Tell me, Daddy, where will we go
When the fire glows?

(break)
Good god, straight from madness
Comin’ ‘round, lickin’ on sadness
Hate pigs, tryin’ their damnedest
Trickle down, but it’s always so late
Crowd so bound, always fallin’ for hate

© 2024 Ratchet Blade Records

Chopper Franklin’s Gothic Dub Single “The Hexed DUB”

Chopper Franklin's Gothic Dub Single“The Hexed DUB” is the latest creation from the Heathen Apostles’ Chopper Franklin (The Cramps, Mau Maus); it’s his gothic dub remix of his original song “The Hexed”. This single is from his upcoming “Darkness in Hymn and Dub Vol. 1” EP; it also features his Heathen Apostles bandmate Mather Louth on co-lead vocals. Check it out HERE.
Chopper cut his teeth in the early days of the Los Angeles punk rock scene, a world that was infused by the post-punk dub sounds of Public Image Limited, Bauhaus and Killing Joke (among others). The roots reggae dub revolution that was lead by Lee “Scratch” Perry, King Tubby and Scientist was also prevalent, and plays a heavy influence on this project.


THE HEXED
(lyrics by Chopper Franklin)

She said, join our order, as a friend, or a lover
She took my soul, wrapped it around her
It’s said, the moon’s her lover, she had a dream about a powder
I took a dose, fell down beside her

He’s the hexed, brought down by the best
He’s the hexed, and you know the rest

She said, abide me brother, took off her robe, made of rubber
Then mixed our blood, brought on another
We bled, often hidden, Christ saken, and God forbidden
Lost and low, and bed-ridden

He’s the hexed, brought down by the best
He’s the hexed, and you know the rest

Poisoned sleep will come tonight
To take your lover dead
So find your sword in shadows cast
And track the wolves instead

Murdered kings who’ve yet to come
To see the flames they fed
For those who wave the blackened flags
Would rather end up dead

He’s the hexed, brought down by the best
He’s the hexed, and you know the rest

Heathen Apostles are Appearing at 100 Club with The Waterboys’ Steve Wickham

The Heathen Apostles are appearing at 100 Club, the famous, and infamous venue in London, England, on 30 July with The Waterboys’ Steve Wickham (with Ray Coen), and their pal Sarah Vista will also be appearing. Here’s the ticket link, they’ll go fast, grab them while you can HEREHeathen Apostles are Appearing at 100 Club

Steve Wickham is recognised as Ireland’s premier rock fiddler since the mid-1980s. His distinctive playing has been a major contribution to the Waterboys groundbreaking records over the years. Steve Wickham became a member of The Waterboys in 1985 shortly after playing on their seminal album “This is The Sea”. After the album was released Wickham joined the group officially. Wickham’s influence and the new environment resulted in the traditional Irish music and traditional Scottish music sound of Fisherman’s Blues (1988). In 1990, Wickham, preferring an acoustic sound over rock, disagreed with Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite over the direction of The Waterboys,[6] and left the band. Wickham has experimented with a technique he calls “fuzz fiddle”, partially inspired by rock fiddler Warren Ellis and the genre of grunge music. Wickham’s first attempt at a distorted rock fiddle sound was with a band named Juggler.

With a hand-picked posse of musical desperadoes alongside her, Sarah Vista creates a dark and dangerous country style that doffs the stetson to classic artists like Loretta Lynn, Nancy Sinatra, Nick Cave, Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash while also veering into spaghetti western territory. Her powerfully emotive vocals are the velvet glove but her truly original lyrics are the iron fist. Lee Powell from UK Rock & Roll magazine nailed it when he called Vista’s music “a unique blend of Morricone-esque western soundtrack style sounds and brooding, blood-soaked balladry.”

Heathen Apostles are appearing at 100 Club with The Waterboys’ Steve Wickham

New Gothic Roots Music Video For “Coffin For The Nail”

The Heathen Apostles’ Chopper Franklin and Mather Louth started filming their new gothic roots music video for Coffin For The Nail last Friday the 25th in downtown Los Angeles. It will be the first music video from their latest album The In Between (out now on Ratchet Blade Records check it out HERE), and comes before they embark on the first of three legs of their 2025 European tour, which begins on June 5th in Amsterdam, The Netherlands at Teatro Munganga. The video was directed by the band, and will have a May release date, check back for more details.

Heathen Apostles Gothic Roots Music Video For "Coffin For The Nail"

Heathen Apostles Gothic Roots Music Video For "Coffin For The Nail"

 

 

 

 

Here’s a post from the band’s Instagram page: Mather and Chopper throwin’ it down; just a few pickup shots left for our “Coffin For The Nail” music video, then we begin editing. Many thanks to camera operator/DP Robert Nelson @robert_nelson_photography, FX makeup (and sclera!) master Kelton Ching @keltonfx and video villain Kaine Livesay @thekainerocks , you all added heavy Heathen energy to an already energetic song. Mather’s wardrobe by @heathenbymatherlouth #gothicoutlaw #hellbilly #heathenapostles #matherlouth #chopperfranklin #lamf

Photos by Robert Nelson.

COFFIN FOR THE NAIL
(lyrics by Chopper Franklin)

Peace out – War in
Take the word of a K Street has been
Big P, little O
Got down and forgot what you came for

Gold in, Black Hills
Trouble is that it’s not for sale
Goddamn, gee whiz
Is that what honor is?

(chorus)
R – you ready for the feast?
I – got a belly full of beast
P – like the guts in a pail
Got a smoke for the hole and a coffin for the nail

Your shame, straight from the mouth
So proud but your tongue’s stickin’ out
Gotcha paid like any other day
But the people are about to go crazy

Strict Daddy, where ya been?
How long ‘til the fire burns in
Tell me, Daddy, where will we go
When the fire glows?
(chorus)
(break)
Good god, straight from madness
Comin’ ‘round, lickin’ on sadness
Hate pigs, tryin’ their damnedest
Trickle down, but it’s always so late
Crowd so bound, always fallin’ for hate