Pitchfork

Who's that surly gentleman with the curly hair strumming the ol' acoustic before my metal show? And what's with the drone metal act going on after all those fucked up folk songs? Why, it's the unlikely-- though awesome-- pairing of former Sun City Girls guy Sir Richard Bishop and Seattle-based Earth, who'll take on Europe from all sides this winter on a month-long joint tour.

Further complicating the mix is the occasional three-way with KTL, the prolific collaboration between Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley and Mego label head Peter Rehberg. Perhaps they'll all settle on a note at the beginning and just go with it?

Bishop got his recorded ya-yas out in 2007 with the two albums he dropped last year, while Earth's The Bee Made Honey in the Lion's Skull is due from Southern Lord February 26.

Earth/Sir Richard Bishop:

02-05 Brighton, England - Barfly
02-06 Bristol, England - Cooler
02-07 Manchester, England - Zion Arts Centre
02-08 Newcastle, UK - Stage 2 @ Northumbria University
02-09 Glasgow, Scotland - Stereo
02-11 Birmingham, England - Medicine Bar
02-12 London, England - Dingwall's
02-13 Tourcoing, France - Le Grand Mix *
02-14 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique *
02-15 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino *
02-16 Nancy, France - L'Autre Canal *
02-17 Bern, Switzerland - Dampfzentrale *
02-18 Geneva, Switzerland - Theatre Alhambra *
02-19 Milan, Italy - Magnolia
02-21 Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
02-22 Ravenna, Italy - Bronson
02-23 Innsbruck, Austria - Pmk
02-24 Vienna, Austria - Szene
02-25 Prague, Czech Republic - Palace Akropolis
02-27 Berlin, Germany - Lido
02-28 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
03-01 Oslo, Norway - Garage
03-02 Gothenburg, Sweden - Nefertiti
03-04 Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang
03-05 Gronigen, Netherlands - Vera Project
03-06 Bielefeld, Germany - Forum
03-07 Eindhoven, Netherlands - Effenaar

* with KTL