With the formation of Comets On Fire Ethan Miller and co booked their ticket to Freaksville USA. By the time they dropped their colossal third LP Blue Cathedral in 2004, their ticket had been upgraded to first class, all-expenses paid.

The record pushed the band to the forefront of the so called New Weird America movement, a genre with spacious boundaries that features classic rock revivalists, acid-rock jam-bands, free-folk raga players and wildly experimental sonic-psych visionaries among its hedonistic ranks. With Blue Cathedral Comets On Fire went positively galactic expanding their own far reaching horizons upwards and outwards, channelling the spirits of stadium romper stompers Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, Pink Floyd and space-rockers Hawkwind. It was a critical smash and was included in many best-of-year polls, as well as landing them supports with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.

Following the albums success, vocalist and guitarist Ethan Miller turned his attention to another musical path. While his work with COF, both vocally and on guitar, was characterised by sonic maelstrom and heavily treated effects, Miller felt he had plenty more to say in a different guise, and so he formed Howlin Rain with fellow New Weird America icon John Maloney, leader of Sunburned Hand Of The Man. The aim was to recreate the sounds of free and easy classic American 70s rock – strong song writing, big hooks, melodic grooves, fuzzed guitar riffs and rolling organs – but rather then write and record a throwback record Miller and Maloney aimed to infuse Howlin Rain with a modern day bite more reminiscent of their own groups. Together with fellow Humboldt County native Ian Gradek on bass, the band recorded what became the first self-titled Howlin Rain record.

After the dissolve of the first Howlin Rain, Miller began to write a new album and put together a new group. Gradek stayed, along with Humboldt guitarist Mike Jackson, who had already joined the Rain for their US tour. The new line-up was rounded off by drummer Garrett Goddard (Cuts, Colossal Yes) and Joel Robinow (Drunk Horse) brought a new level of chops and firepower to the Howlin Rain sound.

Magnificent Fiend is the second album from Howlin Rain released on the San Francisco based Birdman Records. Decamping to Prairie Sun Recording in the tiny Northern California city of Cotati, the band cut the album's basic tracks live in the same converted chicken coop where Tom Waits recorded Bone Machine. Now they're on the way to Cork for a free show at Pine Lodge, Myrtleville, on Saturday, May 3. Time to bust out those flares and that dusty eight track!

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