Ohio riff dealers, LO-PAN, will take to the streets next month on a near two-week Northeastern run of live dates. Kicking off on March 12th in Detroit, Michigan at Berserker II alongside Poison Idea, Iron Reagan, Incantation, Full Of Hell and many others, the NxNe Tour 2015 will trounce eleven cities, coming to a close on March 22nd in Columbus, Ohio. The band will be joined by Detroit rockers, Against The Grain. From there LO-PAN will take a short breather before crossing the Atlantic for a European expedition that will see the band level the stage of Roadburn, Desert Fest, Asymmetry Fest and more with psyche peddlers, Abrahma, and psychedelic war metallers, Black Pyramid, sharing the stage on select dates.

LO-PAN will be touring in support of their critically heralded Colossus long player, released last Fall via Small Stone. Produced and engineered by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Rosetta, East Of The Wall et al) at his own Translator Audio Studio in Brooklyn, New York and named for an ancient statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun, Helios, the record continues to raise the eyebrows of fans and media globally.

Sputnik Music dubs Colossus, “an essential heavy rock album,” further enthusing, “The ultra-heavy fourth album of Columbus luminaries LO-PAN certainly lives up to its title, bludgeoning the listener with a cavalcade of gargantuan riffs from the ground up… the quartet tread a fine line between the technicality of Tool and the sheer riff-power of Swedish stoner rock heavyweights Dozer, while succumbing to both bands’ penchant for infectious motifs.” Verbicide opined, “Not only do they bring the rock to the world of stoner rock, they are also master craftsmen, knowing how to write classic-sounding tunes,” while Hellride notes, “Like the real-life manifestations of the album’s title, LO-PAN are giants walking the earth and Colossus will leave a heavy footprint in the mind of anyone who hears it. Rarely will getting stepped on sound so good.” Elsewhere the feelings ricochet. The Sleeping Shaman calls Colossus, “a fantastic album,” asserting, “if you’re into powerful, driving, stoner influenced heavy rock that is big on riffs and melodies and gut punching grooves then this album will thrill you,” Rockandrollfables.com gushes, “If Torche and Roadsaw had a baby, the resulting bouncing baby boy would be Ohio’s LO-PAN. Take those sludgy riffs and clean vocals that bring to mind Roadsaw’s Craig Riggs and you have the recipe for something great…a monumentally monolithic masterpiece from start to finish,” while The Obelisk notes, “…where their last full-length, 2011′s Salvador, was a pinnacle for their songwriting’s blend of fluid groove, soulful vocals and memorable tracks, Colossus reaps the reward of all their touring in pushing LO-PAN‘s methods even further. So it’s a meaner, more precise LO-PAN this time around.”

LO-PAN NxNe Tour 2015 w/ Against The Grain:
3/12/2015 The Loving Touch – Berserker II – Detroit, MI [info]
3/13/2015 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
3/14/2015 The Lost Horizon – Syracuse, NY
3/15/2015 TT The Bear’s – Boston, MA
3/16/2015 Wonder Bar – Asbury Park, NJ
3/17/2015 The Depot – York, PA
3/18/2015 Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
3/19/2015 Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
3/20/2015 The Pinch – Washington, DC
3/21/2015 31st Street Pub – Pittsburgh, PA
3/22/2015 Spacebar – Columbus, OH
w/ Abrahma:
4/09/2015 Mudd Club – Strasbourg, FR
4/10/2015 Paunchy Cats – Lichtenfels, DE
4/11/2015 Rare Guitar – Munster, DE
4/12/2015 Roadburn – Tilburg, NL
4/14/2015 Black Sheep – Montepellier, FR
4/15/2015 Maravillas Club – Madrid, SP
4/16/2015 Rocksound – Barcelona, SP
4/17/2015 Helldorado – Vitoria, SP
4/18/2015 Le Volume – Nice, FR
4/19/2015 TBA – IT
4/20/2015 Altraquando Club – Zero Baranco, IT
4/21/2015 Orange House – Munich, DE
w/ Black Pyramid:
4/23/2015 Desertfest – Berlin, DE
4/24/2015 Romer – Bremen, DE
4/25/2015 Desertfest – London, UK
4/28/2015 Sedel – Lucerne, CH
4/2/20159 Gaswerk – Winterthur, CH
4/30/2015 Das Bett – Frankfurt, DE
5/01/2015 Schaubude – Kiel, DE
5/02/2015 Asymmetry Fest – Wroclaw, PL

Source: EARSPLIT PR

Lo-Pan is excited to announce that we will be on the road again in March 2015 with Detroit’s speed rockers Against the Grain. It will be a loud and rowdy party every night followed with many gas station hotdogs, crab chips, and all the Little Debbie’s. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Help us repost and promote this poster (by Chris Smith at Grey Aria Design Studio) and list of dates wherever possible. Here are the dates we have lined up…………so far:

2015 NxNe Tour 

March 12  Detroit, MI  The Loving Touch

March 13  Cleveland, OH  Grog Shop

March 14  Syracuse, NY  Lost Horizon

March 15  Boston, MA  TT the Bear’s

March 18  Brooklyn, NY  Saint Vitus

March 19  Philadelphia, PA  Kung Fu Necktie

March 20  Washington, DC  The Pinch

March 21  Pittsburgh, PA  31^st Street Pub

March 22  Columbus, OH  Spacebar
 

TRACK LIST

1. Regulus
2. Land Of The Blind
3. Black Top Revelation
4. Marathon Man
5. N.P.D.
6. Colossus
7. Vox
8. Eastern Seas
9. Relo
10. The Duke

ALBUM INFO

Lo-Pan’s fourth album, Colossus, is named for the Colossus of Rhodes – a 96-foot statue constructed in 280 BC to mark a failed siege and the indomitable nature of the city of Rhodes itself. No surprise it’s the Columbus, Ohio, four-piece’s most personal album yet and a testament to their growth and survival, as a band and as human beings.

Three years on from their third record, Salvador, Lo-Pan have logged countless miles, crossing the country multiple times over on headlining tours and supporting the likes of Torche, High on Fire, KENmode, Whores, Fu Manchu and Weedeater. They’ve become one of the most ferocious live acts in American heavy rock, and Colossus stands tall to reap the rewards of their experience.

For the first time in nearly a decade together, Lo-Pan knew exactly what they wanted when they hit the studio. They’d road-tested songs like “Eastern Seas” and “Colossus” for over a year, and partnering with producer/engineer Andrew Schneider at his Translator Audio studio in Brooklyn just days after headlining Small Stone showcases in that city and Boston this March, they belted out songs that show just how much they’ve moved beyond their influences and arrived at their own sound – a style built on aggression without caricature, fuzz without cliché, melody without redundancy and their meanest groove to date.

Completed with a cover courtesy of Jason Alexander Byers (ex-Disengage, Black Black Black), Colossus will be supported by numerous tours including a full US stint this fall alongside fellow road dogs Black Cobra and much more to come. Like its namesake, Colossus was built in defiance of gods and men, and while Lo-Pan’s loudest statement has always been made on stage, the material they craft and the power with which they execute it on this album is bound to stand for years to come.

Credits

Lo-Pan is:
Skot Thompson: bass
Jeff Martin: vocals
JBartz: drumbs
Brian Fristoe: guitar

Additional Musician:
Jason Alexander Byers: vocals on Vox.

Produced by Andrew Schneider and Lo-Pan.
Engineered and Mixed by Andrew Schneider.
Recorded at Translator Audio in Brooklyn, NY.
Mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering.
Art by Jason Alexander Byers.
Layout by Jonathan Swafford.

All songs written and performed by Lo-Pan
Published by Small Stone Records (ASCAP)

TRACK LIST

1. El Dorado
2. Bleeding Out
3. Seed
4. Bird Of Prey
5. Deciduous
6. Intro
7. Chichen Itza
8. Spartacus
9. Struck Match
10. Generations
11. Solo

ALBUM INFO

They’re not saying that they’ve been everywhere or done everything, but Lo-pan can tell you it’s a pretty amazing planet we live on here, and a band would have to be some kind of fools to think we’re alone in THIS universe. A borrowed view of the world perhaps but Jack Burton doesn’t seem to mind and it eloquently explains the state of mind these rock and roll mad scientists come at the world from.

Born out of a combination of dirty rock and roll, stale beer and an unhealthy obsession with “Big Trouble In Little China,” Columbus’s Lo-Pan have been tearing up the club circuit since 2005. Lo-Pan burst onto the local scene with their locally released self-titled album back in 2006. The local buzz gave way to more national attention as bands told bands and Lo-Pan began gracing venues big and small with names like Red Giant, Devil To Pay, Torche, the Sword, Saviours, Year Long Disaster, Red Fang, Valkyrie, & the Atomic Bitchwax (just to name a few). Fast forward five years and there’s hardly a band worth playing with that they haven’t shared a stage with. Enter the sophomore release, “Sasquanaut.” Initial pressings on local indie Nice Life Records sold out quickly and as before the best praise is when one band on the road tells another “Hey, man you’ve got to check this out.” Which brought them, album masters in hand to us here at Small Stone. Enter Sasquanaut, mark 2: “Sasquanaut (Remixed & Re-mastered).” Heavier, more dynamic, louder and just that tiny bit more polished. Not ones to sit on their hands when there was rock and roll to make, Lo-pan handed over the masters and headed right back into to the studio to see if they could rock just a little bit harder.

“Salvador” is the result of yet another frenetic battle between these humble Columbus rock and rollers and their inner demons. Eleven tracks of white hot rock and roll fury played like the boys were fighting for their immortal souls. The thunderous low ends and pummeling drums continue to beat your ears into submission. And battling it out front and center is the eternal dual between killer riffs and those soaring vocals. Look for the album late spring on both CD and 180 gram virgin vinyl and look for the band on the road pretty much all the time. After all, the porkchop express is never really off the road. And as always remember; IT’S ALL IN THE REFLEXES!

Credits

Lo-Pan is:
Skot Thompson: bass
JBartz: drums
Jeff Martin: vox
Brian Fristoe: guitar

Produced, Recorded, and Mixed by: Benny Grotto @ Mad Oak Studios – Allston, MA.
Mastered by: Chris Goosman Basline Audio Labs – Ann Arbor, MI.
Illustration & album artwork by Alexander von Wieding.
Photos by: JBartz.
All songs written and performed by Lo-Pan

TRACKLIST:

1. Dragline 05:59
2. Savage Henry 07:05
3. Kurtz 05:20
4. Callahan 03:30
5. Kramer 06:26
6. Vega 05:12
7. Vego 06:58
8. Wade Garrett 10:23

REVIEWS:

ALBUM INFO:

They’re not saying that they’ve been everywhere or done everything, but Lo-pan can tell you it’s a pretty amazing planet we live on here, and a band would have to be some kind of fools to think we’re alone in THIS universe. A borrowed view of the world perhaps but Jack Burton doesn’t seem to mind and it eloquently explains the state of mind these rock and roll mad scientists come at the world from.

Born out of a combination of dirty rock and roll, stale beer and an unhealthy obsession with “Big Trouble In Little China,” Columbus’s Lo-Pan have been tearing up the club circuit since 2005. Lo-Pan burst onto the local scene with their locally released self-titled album back in 2006. The local buzz gave way to more national attention as bands told bands and Lo-Pan began gracing venues big and small with names like Red Giant, Devil To Pay, Torche, the Sword, Saviours, Year Long Disaster, Red Fang, Valkyrie, & the Atomic Bitchwax (just to name a few). Fast forward five years and there’s hardly a band worth playing with that they haven’t shared a stage with. Enter the sophomore release, “Sasquanaut.” Initial pressings on local indie Nice Life Records sold out quickly and as before the best praise is when one band on the road tells another “Hey, man you’ve got to check this out.” Which brought them, album masters in hand to us here at Small Stone. Enter Sasquanaut, mark 2: “Sasquanaut (Remixed & Re-mastered).” Heavier, more dynamic, louder and just that tiny bit more polished. Not ones to sit on their hands when there was rock and roll to make, Lo-pan handed over the masters and headed right back into to the studio to see if they could rock just a little bit harder.

“Salvador” is the result of yet another frenetic battle between these humble Columbus rock and rollers and their inner demons. Eleven tracks of white hot rock and roll fury played like the boys were fighting for their immortal souls. The thunderous low ends and pummeling drums continue to beat your ears into submission. And battling it out front and center is the eternal dual between killer riffs and those soaring vocals. Look for the album late spring on both CD and 180 gram virgin vinyl and look for the band on the road pretty much all the time. After all, the porkchop express is never really off the road. And as always remember; IT’S ALL IN THE REFLEXES!

 
Released 14 October 2003

Lo-Pan is:
Brian Fristoe: guitar
JBartz: drums
Jeff Martin: vocals
Skot Thompson: bass

Nicholle Dieckman performs backing vocals on “Vego”.
Tracks 1-7: Recorded and engineered by: Paul Maccarrone and “Buddy” Akita @ Zombie ProofStudios – Cleveland, OH.
Track 8: Recorded and engineered by: Adam Smith @ CDR – Columbus, OH.
Mixed by: Benny Grotto @ Mad Oak Studios – Allston, MA
Mastered by: Chris Goosman @ Basline Audio – Ann Arbor, MI
Artwork and Design by: Joe Fortunato