Toehider announce new album ‘I LIKE IT’ & new single out now
TOEHIDER ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘I LIKE IT’
The collaborative project between singer/multi-instrumentalist MIKE MILLS & graphic designer ANDREW SALTMARSH is the 4th full length studio album and 20th overall release (after a series of 12 EPs in 12 months kickstarted the project a decade ago, along with a few more along the way).
The first single ‘He’s There…And Then He Does THAT’ is a classic Toehider showcase, blending 80s pop/rock, with Mike Mills’ trademark vocal gymnastic, modern prog guitar wizardry, plus a bit of epic saxophone thrown in for good measure.
Since 2018, TOEHIDER have been running a successful Patreon subscription, generating 40+ compositions and illustrations available to fans, from which the album’s songs were drawn.
Mike Mills explained the album process on social media recently:
Toehider presents – “I LIKE IT!”
– – THE ALBUM THE FANS BUILT! – –
Over the last couple of years myself and Salty put together 40+ songs+pieces and asked the 250+ amazing individuals on our Patreon to vote on which 12 songs were the absolute magic, the primary examples, cat’s pyjamas, the bunyip’s baps, the certified BEST of the lot to release to the public in the form of an album.
Yes, the songs on this album were hand-picked by the most hardcore Toehider fans. Brilliant! Also this release will be a first for Toehider as it will also be available as a double 180gram gatefold-sleeve vinyl.
Preorder now at –
https://toehider.bandcamp.com/album/i-like-it
TRACK LISTING –
01. Go Full Bore!
02. wellgivit
03. Rancorous Heart
04. Moon and Moron
05. Concerning Lix & Fairs
06. The Ultimate Exalter
07. Died of Dancing
08. Bats Aren’t Birds
09. The Guy That No-One Really Knows
10. He’s There… and Then He Does THAT
11. How Much For That Dragon Tooth?
12. I Like It!
—
Following the removal of restrictions due to COVID-19, eventually, Toehider will take their Queen-influenced, larger-than-life progressive rock show back on the road, sporting a healthy dose of the quirkiness and tongue-in-cheek humour that makes them one of the most entertaining live bands in the country.
More about TOEHIDER:
After releasing their debut EP back in 2008, Toehider caught the world’s attention by releasing an impressive 12 EPs in 12 months, covering everything from up-beat pop & heavy progressive metal, to children’s audiobooks & chilled out folk, each complete with unique artwork and a 2-page comic by Brisbane illustrator Andrew Saltmarsh. After a brief respite from the studio, Mike Mills formed a live band (featuring ex-Soilwork drummer Ricky Evensand, bassist Amy Campbell & guitarist Lachlan Barclay) to take the Toehider show on the road for the first time in 2009-10, playing shows along the east coast of Australia with the likes of sleepmakeswaves & Arcane.
2011 saw the band debut their first full album To Hide Her featuring some of their catchiest material to date, as well as touring with fellow Australian prog heavyweights Unitopia on their first national tour. The band’s 2008 track ‘I Must Say Yes’ was also debuted on the triple j Breakfast with Tom & Alex during their Unearthed segment, with triple j Mornings presenter Zan Rowe posting it later as ‘the best Monday song ever.’
After a relatively dormant 2012, during which live band drummer Ricky Evensand relocated to Sweden, Toehider re-emerged in 2013 with Mike Solo on drums, touring alongside The Protomen (USA) and Devin Townsend (CAN), as well as joining TWELVE FOOT NINJA & CALIGULA’S HORSE on tour.
This momentum carried over into the successful release of their second album in 2014 What Kind Of Creature Am I? TOEHIDER toured alongside TROLDHAUGEN on the east coast to launch the first single from the album ‘Whoa’ early in the year, before continuing to tour extensively in Australia, headlining their own shows, supporting VOYAGER & Caligula’s Horse on tour, touring Tasmania with THE BEARDS and joining CLOSURE IN MOSCOW on the PROGFEST lineup.
Also during 2013 & 2014, Mike Mills was ‘discovered’ online, leading to two very different scenarios: after stumbling across a clip of Mike Mills playing Bohemian Rhapsody acoustically, AYREON composer Arjen Lucassen invited him to fly to Europe to sing on his forthcoming rock opera “The Theory of Everything” alongside members of YES, DREAM THEATER & NIGHTWISH.
As an early experiment in online performances, Mike Mills also inadvertently went viral with his cover of KATE BUSH’s Wuthering Heights passing 600,000 views as being featured on sites such as The Huffington Post, before ultimately removing it from YouTube due to his unwillingness to entertain online trolls posting vulgar remarks on the video’s page (the track is now available on Spotify for fans to listen).
However, it was the success of the AYREON release that catapulted Toehider from an underground cult act in Australia…to a worldwide cult act. The acclaim for Mike Mills vocal performance as ‘The Father’ on the record (which sold 50,000+ copies) lead to a spike in sales for the new Toehider album and invitations for Toehider to perform overseas for the first time.
In 2015, Mike Mills performed Devin Townsend’s role as ‘Rage’ in the stage adaptation of Ayreon’s rock opera ‘The Theatre Equation’ across five sold out nights in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The shows were preceded by Toehider’s first ever European tour with friends The Beards, playing sold out dates across Sweden, Denmark and Germany (with drummer Ricky Evensand back on board). The band wrapped up the year with their only Australian show for 2015 at the Bird’s Robe Records 5th birthday alongside sleepmakeswaves & Troldhaugen at Manning Bar in Sydney.
They also announced the release of a new EP – ‘Mainly Songs About Robots’. Featuring guest drums recorded by Dio/Black Sabbath legend Vinny Appice, the 4-track record displayed all of singer/songwriter Mike Mills’ trademark bombast and melodicism, whilst lyricizing a story of man and machine.
In 2016, the group released a companion EP ‘Mainly Songs About Rowboats’ in celebration of their performance at the sold out metal cruise ‘Hell on the Bay’ in September. In November, Mike Mills announced that the ‘mark 2’ era lineup of Amy Campbell, Lachlan Barclay and Mike Solo would disband amicably, following their tour with Sydney group MENISCUS.
2017 saw Mike Mills feature on AYREON’s record “The Source” in a standout performance acclaimed by fans, alongside members of DREAM THEATER, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME & EPICA. He returned to Europe to perform in collaboration with AYREON again at a series of sold out theatre dates, as wel as performing at Graspop Festival. Toehider returned to support the release of their third studio album ‘GOOD’ to play at ProgPower Europe festival and a number of additional dates.
In 2018, Toehider launched a Patreon campaign called ’49 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die’ as a home for Mike Mills and Salty’s prolific work and content. This project continued in 2019 with further livestreaming and content, as well as a series of digital re-releases marking the 10th anniversary of the 12in12 project, with additional commentary from Mike Mills on each track.
2020 will see the release of new album ‘I LIKE IT’ with plenty more news to come – once this virus thing settles down.
Listen/support Toehider at www.toehider.bandcamp.com
Watch the lyric video for ‘He’s There…And Then He Does THAT’ below:
Heaps of Toehider stuff is out now through Bird’s Robe Records/MGM
Contact Mike Solo birdsrobe@gmail.com / 0404 937 095 for press enquiries
TOEHIDER
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