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Italy’s heavy psych torchbearers The Lancasters return with their most ambitious record to date, The Word of the Mistral, released this October via Retro Vox Records and Life On Saturn.

Formed in 2019, the band has built a reputation for explosive live shows and an uncompromising devotion to the raw spirit of late ’60s and early ’70s rock. Born from the gritty roots of hard rock and psychedelia – that untamed, free vibe that lit up England between 1969 and 1971 – the band keeps it loud, raw, and obsessed with building walls of sound. Their style tips its hat to legends like Led Zeppelin, Terry Reid, The Kinks, and The Stooges, never imitating but always reshaping those influences into something trippy, desert-dirty, garage-heavy, and defiantly modern.

Following their 2023 record Standard Family Size, the band spent 2024 on the road in Italy, backing up J.P. Shilo (Mick Harvey, Blondie), Mika Bajinski (Sometimes with Others), and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth). These live experiences sharpened their vision and fed directly into the creation of The Word of the Mistral, a concept album blending psychedelic rock, heavy blues, and visionary storytelling into a sweeping analogue journey.

At the heart of the record lies a mythical tale penned by frontman Dave Chiari. Four wandering knights search for a sacred golden ark across the Italian Apennines, encountering figures such as The One Who Sees in the Dark, the King and Queen of Umbrìa, Lucifer, and Hildegarde von Bingen – the 12th-century visionary, mystic, and rebel who invented her own language and composed music in a time when women were forbidden to do so. Branded a threat in her era, she emerges here as a beacon of defiance and transcendence. New single ‘Hildegarde’ captures this spirit in a burst of psychedelic funk, where the sharp edges of early ’70s Jeff Beck collide with the surreal textures of Frank Zappa.

Recorded in one intense week at Retro Vox Studio in Parma, the album was tracked entirely on vintage gear, produced and mixed by Centuries Reverb and mastered by Stefano Vanoni at Revolver Mastering.

Supported by the Per Chi Crea grant (SIAE & MiC), the record embodies the warmth and grit of an era when rock was both dangerous and divine.

The Word of the Mistral will be released on 3rd October 2025 via Retro Vox Records and Life On Saturn and can be pre-ordered here.