HASHTRONAUT from Mile High City, Colorado have taken that elderly British gentleman Jethro Tull in, roughed him up a bit, and stuck a big spliff in his ruddy face. The American weed-metal four-piece pays due homage on the tribute album "Best of Jethro Tull Redux", which will be released parallel to the forthcoming MER Redux Series installment "Aqualung Redux", with their ingeniously crazy rendition of the track 'Bungle in the Jungle' from the British rock legends' seventh full-length "War Child" (1974). Trigger warning: this track includes a flute!
HASHTRONAUT comment: "Our contribution was chosen 100% on name alone", guitarist Kellen McInerney quips. "Come on, it’s ridiculous! So imagine our surprise once we actually listened to the track… holy &@^¥, this tune rips!! The actual recording of this track was an absolute riot. Imagine Daniel in the vocal booth, trying to scream lyrics like 'eating their nuts, saving their raisins for Sunday' with a straight face? Not a chance! Jethro Tull was an ever present influence for the four of us growing up, and we were honored to be able to add a little bit of our own voice to the storied history of what Jethro Tull means to heavy music."
HASHTRONAUT from Denver, Colorado take the inofficial moniker 'Mile High City' for their hometown quite literally – in a weedy sense. Ever since the four-piece emerged with the digital EP "Tidal Waves of Ashen Sky" from the deep stoner metal underground in spring 2022, their musical smoke signals have been noticed even across the Atlantic. Their debut full-length "No Return" (2024) has been picked up and favourably reviewed by major metal press worldwide. To quote Metal Hammer (DE): "Fans of the genre [stoner metal] should really go for the album, because NO RETURN is ruled by crunchy bass, wah-wah and fuzz pedals, and slurping." Check out these smoking up and coming newcomers!
JETHRO TULL are musical giants with a unique sound – or rather sounds that have remained singular in the canon of rock music. Founded in Blackpool, Lancashire, in 1967 by the Scotsman Ian Anderson, the band has undergone several stylistic shifts and changes of image during their still ongoing career of many decades. Yet largely due to the characteristic voice of their frontman and the inclusion of a flute as an essential instrument, JETHRO TULL have always had an inimitable and easily recognisable trademark sonic fingerprint.
JETHRO TULL pushed the limits of what defines rock music from the start. Elements of classical music, jazz, and traditional music such as compound time signatures have led to the band being classified as art rock and later progressive rock – among a host of other terms. The British legend has managed to balance the tightrope between art, wide appeal and commercial success with seeming ease. This was helped by the outstanding showmanship of Ian Anderson, whose stagecraft and performances even rivalled his contemporary, the iconic British singer Arthur Brown.
Magnetic Eye's Redux Series was created to pay homage to classic albums from across music history. The label has charged themselves as chroniclers and archivists to contribute to keeping the memory of outstanding artists and records alive and transfer their music to the sound of new generations. Heavy music has always experienced evolution in many directions, but the idea that a band led by an eccentric, mercurial Scotsman who integrated art pieces, social critiques, off-kilter humour and yes, even a flute, proved to be delightfully appealing and finally irresistible.
That eccentric geniuses such as JETHRO TULL could become one of the most memorable and recognisable acts of the 1970s that continued to amaze throughout the next decades very much shows what a fun and crazy time those early days of rock's exploration were.
With "Aqualung Redux" and "Best of Jethro Tull Redux", Magnetic Eye pay heavy tribute to the original art rock masters through an array of renditions by bands both iconic and new. JETHRO TULL were singular and a band even just similar might never come into existence today, but it is cool as hell that their legacy continues to live on more than five decades later. Magnetic Eye proudly uphold and endorse their lasting greatness with this respectful homage.
The Magnetic Eye Redux Series and its companion volumes feature hand-picked classic albums from across the history of rock and metal re-imagined in their entirety from start to finish. Artists we love from within and outside the heavy rock landscape choose tracks to make their own, bringing these milestone records into the new millennium with crushing heaviness and searing energy. To date, we've produced Redux editions of PINK FLOYD's "The Wall", HELMET's "Meantime", BLACK SABBATH's "Vol. 4", HENDRIX's "Electric Ladyland", ALICE IN CHAINS' "Dirt", AC/DC's "Back in Black", and SOUNDGARDEN's "Superunknown" which have included renowned artists such as RED FANG, MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, SUPERSUCKERS, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, RUBY THE HATCHET, among many others.
Join us for our eighth foray into Redux territory as we pay proper respect to the unique British rock legends JETHRO TULL!
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