The Heavy release soul-drenched single ‘Without A Woman’

The Heavy have released the brand new song ‘Without A Woman’, the latest to be taken from their forthcoming album AMEN, out April 21^st and available to pre-order here.

‘Without A Woman’ is a soul-drenched celebration of women around the world. The empowering anthem closes AMEN with imposing powerful horns, funky rhythmic guitar and drums alongside a stunning wall of compassionate vocals from the gospel choir and frontman Kelvin Swaby.

Regarding the single Kelvin says, “It’s astounding that right now in the 2020s, an age-old and point-blank ignorance remains. It is being given oxygen every day in way too many corners of the world. It’s unbelievable. Women should receive the acknowledgment, value, and respect that they absolutely deserve. I know I definitely wouldn’t be here without a woman. Would you?”

‘Without A Woman’ follows the release of ‘Stone Cold Killer’, ‘I Feel The Love’ and ‘Hurricane Coming’, all taken from AMEN. The singles have had great support from BBC 6Music, with Craig Charles, Don Letts and Chris Hawkins all particularly big fans at the station, while they’ve also been receiving lots of airplay in the US too. ‘Hurricane Coming’ has also been selected to feature on the soundtrack for the Six Nations rugby as well as Premier League football and England national games.

The Heavy’s sixth album AMEN was recorded at Rockfield Studios, produced with Tchad Blake (The Black Keys, U2) and engineered with Real World Studios’ Joe Jones. It writhes with seditious blues drama, soul and gospel passion, the crunch of prime hip-hop and garage punk’s visceral electricity.

The band debuted songs from the album live to fans at their sold out UK shows last month to an instant ecstatic reaction, which lead The Sun to hail “a triumphant return” for The Heavy.

Following the album release the band will be touring America in May where tickets are flying off the shelves prompting additional shows to be added. They will return to the UK and Europe for another headline tour in September with full UK dates listed below.

THE HEAVY 2023 UK TOUR DATES
September
15^th – London, KOKO
16^th – Manchester, Academy 2
18^th – Glasgow, St. Luke’s
19^th – Birmingham, Academy 2
21^st – Bristol, SWX

Tickets are on sale now via www.theheavy.co.uk

AMEN TRACK LISITING

1. Hurricane Coming
2. Ain’t A Love
3. Bad Muthafucker
4. I Feel The Love
5. Messin’ With My Mind
6. Just Like Summer
7. Stone Cold Killer
8. Whole Lot Of Me
9. Feels Like Rain
10. Without A Woman

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE HEAVY
The Heavy’s osmosis rise was swift. At the height of the blues rock revival in 2007 frontman Kelvin Swaby and guitarist Daniel Taylor, having formed a strong bond over vintage soul and Jim Jarmusch, recruited bassist Spencer Page and drummer Chris Ellul, two student friends they knew from Bath’s insular classic pop circuit, to help them construct the sample-heavy “bedroom” debut album Great Vengeance And Furious Fire, released on Ninja Tune’s rock imprint Counter Records.

Within a year they began making waves Stateside then a live performance of ‘How You Like Me Now?’ – the lead single from 2009’s second album The House That Dirt Built – on The Late Show With David Letterman punted them straight into the American psyche.

The US decided it liked ‘How You Like Me Now?’ very much indeed. The track was selected to soundtrack a 2010 Super Bowl commercial, and feature heavily in Mark Wahlberg’s sports drama The Fighter. Before long the song was all over US culture. On TV, The Vampire Diaries, Entourage, Community, Rookie Blue and White Collar all featured the track. In gaming, it appeared in Driver: San Francisco and MLB 10. On the big screen, Horrible Bosses, Limitless, The Expendables 3, The Change-Up, This Means War and GI Joe: Retaliation all played on the drama exuding from its corrupted soul, an attribute that makes The Heavy’s music naturally cinematic. The song became so ubiquitous in the States that it was ‘How You Like Me Know?’ which played over the speakers at Barack Obama’s HQ in Chicago to declare his victory in the 2012 Presidential election.

The Heavy’s infiltration of the global subconscious was only beginning. ‘Short Change Hero’, also from The House That Dirt Built, became a TV sync mainstay, reached new generations as the theme to Batman: Arkham City and several Borderlands video games and even made it into real-life battle zones. “We knew a Special Forces guy in America,” Dan says, “and he told me they’d listen to ‘Short Change Hero’ in a tank when they were out on operations in Iraq.”

By the time 2012’s third album The Glorious Dead catapulted tracks including ‘Same ‘Ol’ and gritty gospel funk blast ‘What Makes A Good Man?’ onto adverts, TV shows, games and the trailer for Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, The Heavy were pioneering a very modern method of rock’n’roll survival and prosperity; they were arguably the 21^st Century’s first major sync sensation. The band expanded the scope and ambition of their sound over 2016’s Hurt & The Merciless and 2019’s Sons, and grew increasingly tight as a unit, despite Kelvin moving to the US with his American wife in 2016.

Now 2023 is upon us, The Heavy return with the dials set to soul force 10. Their blistering new record is primed to get the airwaves and venues pumping this year once again. Returning after a three-year pandemic related break with their sixth album AMEN, a self-released record allowing the close-knit band even more personal control to deliver the most fresh and revitalised record in their canon yet.