THE HIDDEN HAND was: Bruce Falkinburg, bass player also in The Field Machine and owner of the Phase Recordings studio in College Park, Maryland, responsible for the recording of Spirit Caravans last single and a number of Clutch releases among others. Dave Hennessy, known from his work in Ostinato, one of the best kept secrets of Maryland and described as the missing link between Pink Floyd and Mogwai. Scott “Wino” Weinrich, the grandmaster of the craft when it comes to slow and heavy rock and known from his work in genre stalwarts such as Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan and Place Of Skulls THE HIDDEN HAND was formed out of a magical relationship between Bruce Falkinburg and Wino who have known each other from recordings before. Bruce convinced Wino and Dave to form a band that will create something unheard before and give some new emotions to the heavy rock scene.
THE HIDDEN HAND’s inner circle also included the agreement of pointing out some serious political messages and ideas from the beginning. And so the story goes: Together this threepiece created an album full of soul, honesty and openmindedness: 2003’s critically acclaimed “Divine Propaganda”. The music itself is a healthy, uplifting mix of all the best bits of all the best rock bands from the past (Sabbath, Motorhead, Cream, Grand Funk Railroad, MC5, Blue Cheer, Mountain, The Groundhogs) with a down to earth attitude and lyricism earned by years of paying dues in the punk and metal underground.
In late 2003, right after the release of “Divine Propaganda” the threepiece locked itself in the studio again and recorded new material. Some of these songs have been used for various compilations such as the Stoner Rock sampler brought to listen by High Times Magazine and the Crucial Blast compilation featuring nowadays Maryland music scene. The two tracks “Five Points” and “Welcome To Sunshine” appear on a split EP with DC based riffrockers WOOLY MAMMOTH, just released on Exile On Mainstream Records as a wonderful limited wooden box set and sold out after just three weeks. Live shows followed in late 2003 and early 2004 and brought the band on stage with Clutch, Mastodon, Nebula, High On Fire, Wooly Mammoth among others. In early 2004 THE HIDDEN HAND entered the Phase studio again and recorded a new album with producer extraordinnaire J Robbins, known from his work for bands like At The Drive-In, Jawbox, The Promise Ring and Burning Airlines.
September 2004 saw the release of “Mother Teacher Destroyer” being released as a cooperation between Exile On Mainstream and Southern Lord Recordings.
After a third album, the concept piece “The Resurrection Of Whiskey Foote”, released on Southern Lord the band was laid to rest.
THE HIDDEN HAND have released the following records on Exile On Mainstream. Click here for PURCHASE:
(if clicks don’t work it means the record is out of print)