Sorry it has been so long! Computer break downs followed by work and other lifestyle problems got in the way, but we’re back baby, to keep you up-to-date with anything and everything Chris Ross related! And boy has there been news since I last posted here!

Last time I posted about a project with Chris Ross and Myles Heskett called Doom Buggy, well Doom Buggy is the buried and forgotten, and now lies the heart and soul that is Palace of Fire!

Palace of Fire first debut performance was at Boogie Rock Festival, in April earlier this year (photo’s and review available here and here, respectively). Consisting of Chris Ross, Myles Heskett and new face to the tribe, Matt Blackman (Tucker B’s, Charge Group). Word is that the new trio combine the toughness and versatility of Wolfmother with the more refined, cinematic approach of Charge Group and Blackman’s former band Purplene.
Palace of Fire’s MySpace account has this to say about the band:

Palace of Fire is a brand-new sonic beast sired by three men. It is both a dynamic shot in the arm and a cinematic exploration around the perimeter of the human condition. A primal blend of dark invocations and ceremonious, melodic, heavy rock.

PoF have played very few gigs during the year, mostly around Sydney and NSW areas, supporting Battles at the Sydney Opera House in May for the Luminous Festival (photos), playing at The Metro, Sydney on June 28th for the “Save FBi Radio” fundraiser, sharing the stage with the likes of Muscles, Dappled Cities, Decoder Ring, Midnight Juggernauts and others. Palace supported Decoder Ring, also, on September 12th at Baroque Bar in Katoomba.

Recordings aren’t available to listen to as of yet, but current news is that they are working on either an EP or a Double A-Side single, with 3 or 4 songs in the works. From their Twitter account they’re nearly done recording and that it “sounds ENORMOUS”. Stay tuned for more info as it comes!

But if you thought Chris had been putting all his eggs into one basket with Palace of Fire, you would be mistaken, around August, Chris and Myles teamed up with Kid Koala to recreate the soundtrack of a documentary Kid Koala worked with Dynamite D in making, however the film part failed and the soundtrack was left to gather hard drive dust until KK played it to the Aussie duo, inspired by the music, they teamed up together to recreate the music and let it see the light of day, by doing a USA and Canada tour entitled “The Slew: Live”.

Exclaim.ca:
The press release promises that the tour will be “brash, loud and defiantly turned up to 11,” with live drums, bass, keys and six turntables all pumping out 70 minutes of epic, hip-hop-influenced psych rock goodness.

The Slew recorded the album and sold it at the shows in the form of CD or 2xLP vinyl, however also offered the entire album as a free download off of their website with the intention of letting people hear their music before they see them live, to enjoy the performance more.

Tracklisting:
1 ) 100%
2 ) IT’S ALL OVER
3 ) PROBLEM CHILD
4 ) YOU TURN ME COLD
5 ) WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS
6 ) ROBBING BANKS (DOIN’ TIME)
7 ) THE GRINDER
8 ) SHACKLED SOUL
9 ) SOUTHEAST SOLILOQUY
10 ) BATTLE OF HEAVEN & HELL

The album got alot of positive responses from the Wolfmother forums, some even stating it to be one of their favourite albums of 2009, combating the recent release of Wolfmother’s newest album “Cosmic Egg”.
But the link to download the album for free will be taken down November 1st due to some very exciting news! “100%” will be getting released through Ninja Tune on November 24th due to heavy demand for the album during the tour.

There have also been rumours that their will be more Slew tours and material in the future, but for now, it’s just the cool sounds of 100%.

So that has been the last 13 months of Chris Ross news summarised into one news post! Expect alot more updates in the future, in the mean time, check these cool sites for all things relating to Chris Ross.

• Palace of Fire (MySpace)
• Palace of Fire (Twitter)
• The Slew (Official Site)
• The Slew (MySpace)