Founded in Cologne in 2013, Plainride have slowly but steadily established themselves as one of the rising stars of Germany’s Heavy Rock underground. Never quite belonging to either the retro stoner or the modern hard rock clique, the band has garnered a reputation for their sweat-drenched, high-octane live shows as well as their eclectic musical repertoire – experimenting with violin, organ, and harmonica from an early stage in their career. Hailed by some as the German response to Clutch, Plainride’s songs frequently feature cryptic mythological references and fierce social criticism – wrapped in catchy riffs and big choruses reminiscent of Heavy Rock greats like Monster Magnet and Orange Goblin.
Having unleashed their ferocious debut “Return Of The Jackalope” as a DIY effort and to critical acclaim in 2015, Plainride quickly caught the attention of California-based underground label Ripple Music (Mothership, Wo Fat, Wino), who signed the band for a re-release in 2016. Their Metal-esque 2018 sophomore album, “Life On Ares” helped catapult the band onto stages at Wacken and in support of Stoner Rock legends Fu Manchu, adding to Plainride’s ever-growing list of high-caliber support slots. The album, which was mixed and mastered by Austin-based engineer Alberto De Icaza (Clutch, Crobot) among others made it onto Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson’s list of his top 9 favorite albums of 2018. With Plainride-classic “Devil At Your Heels” racking up hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify’s Stoner Rock editorial playlist, the band scored an invitation to heavy underground cult gathering Maryland Doom Fest in 2020. Armed with a fully booked east- and west coast tour spanning the entirety of June, Plainride had their sights set on finally making it across the pond in order to play for their US-American audience, who to this date make up the lion’s share of their fanbase. Then came COVID.
Plainride, however, don’t do setbacks. Over the course of the pandemic, the band filmed and released two brand new music videos, all the while securing an endorsement by Orange Amplifiers as well as funding from German Initiative Musik for the production of their third full-length – just in time for their full-scale European tour supporting U.S. heavy rock legends Corrosion of Conformity. As live music makes its return, Plainride are coming out of this pandemic with their new self-titled album sounding bigger, more confident, and more adventurous than ever before.
An almost anarchic album by rock standards, their new album "Plainride" cares as little about convention as it does about authority. Singer Max Rebel has little to do with authority either, and his lyrics, at times cryptically, at times by means of the sledgehammer, deal with structural power relations, mythological ruler figures, and neoliberal hustle culture. If you listen closely, you will discover a rich fund of allusions, quotations, and references in the ten songs, from Allen Ginsberg to Adorno and Marx, to the Bible, the Phoenician Pantheon, and the Chicago Riots of 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King. "Plainride" was recorded, mixed and mastered by guitarist and producer Bob Vogston at Lipaka Studios in January 2022. It features a wide range of guest musicians across its 10 tracks with instrumentation including brass, organ, theremin, harmonica, piano, and percussion.
PLAINRIDE "Plainride" Out now on streaming platforms
Vinyl and CD available soon on Ripple Music