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Brothers of the Sonic Cloth have been purveying a brutal yet artful brand of heavy metal over the last five years. Led by the iconic frontman/titanic force of nature Tad Doyle, BOTSC—who include bassist Peggy Doyle and drummer Dave French—take his previous band TAD’s pugilistic, song-based approach into more extreme, epic realms of the rock spectrum. All of BOTSC's hard toil has paid off in a deal with Neurot Recordings, the respected heavy-music label run by members of the bands Neurosis and Tribes of Neurot. Expect the album sometime in early 2015. The Stranger conducted a brief interview with Tad to see what's on the horizon for BOTSC.

The Stranger: What factors made you decide to sign with Neurot Recordings?
Tad: I’ve known those guys for a long time and I really respect all the work the label’s done. It has a really good sense of integrity. I thought it would be a good fit because we have similar backgrounds.

What’s the album's title?
I think it’s just gonna be Brothers of the Sonic Cloth.

What can we expect sonically and lyrically from your Neurot Recordings debut album?
Sonically, it’s going to be a lot heavier than anything I’ve done. Those people looking for the poppier end are probably not gonna find it. Lyrically, it draws on a lot of personal and spiritual experiences as well as me recognizing mortality and being more in the moment and present.

Have you had any close brushes with mortality?
No; just living every day will do it. You get to be my age [Tad’s turning 54 this month], you kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel.

How do you feel like your new music’s stacking up compared to your old work?
I really feel that this is my best work to date, and hopefully there will be some more. It’s different inasmuch as there’s more depth and meaning to it than the previous Tad stuff—which was good on its own, but different. When you have some time to step away from music for a while—which I did—you discover a lot of stuff that I was missing during all those years I was touring. I found a lot of great stuff and am drawing on inspiration from all across the board.

What are some examples of this inspiration?
There’s a modern composer Edgard Varèse that I really like. Neurosis records have always been inspiring to me. I’ve always liked Yob since I found about them. Cult of Luna. There’s some good black metal out there. I try to stay diverse in what I listen to.

Are you working with a producer on this record, or are you producing?
The recording engineer who mixed the album is Billy Anderson [Sleep, Mr. Bungle, Red House Painters]. I chose him because I like what he’s done in the past. I knew he was going to put his heart and soul into it, like we have into the music. I feel like he’s done that. It couldn’t have been mixed by anyone else, in my mind.

Will there be a major tour to support the album? Do you have any upcoming shows?
We’ll be doing some sporadic touring. We hope to go to some festivals in Europe and do some dates in the states. It probably won’t be like the old days of touring nonstop. We’ll make it out here and there. No shows are in the works yet.

Press release after the jump.

Be sure to check out the documentary on Tad, Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears, if you haven't yet.

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH Signs To Neurot Recordings; Long-Awaited Debut Full-Length To See Release In Spring 2015

Keeping up a long-held tradition of bringing forth some of the heaviest music from the darkness of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle's Tad Doyle (formerly of TAD, Hog Molly), delivers his strongest songwriting and performance to date with his newest project, BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH. This powerful trio of musicians — Tad on guitar/vocals alongside veteran bassist Peggy Doyle and drummer Dave French (The Annunaki) — will release their long-awaited debut LP in early 2015 on Neurot Recordings.
BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH fuses together the collective and extensive rock histories and experiences of its three members in the worlds of punk, hard rock and metal.

Says Steve Von Till of the signing: "All of us at Neurot Recordings are so incredibly fired up about having the opportunity to be a part of this release. For me personally, Tad has been responsible for some of my favorite guitar driven noise of our generation not to mention the fact that it is an absolute pleasure to be working together with such great human beings. Witness the return of Tad with BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH!"

Stay tuned for further BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH developments, including audio teasers, as they transpire.