BOOTLEG: EXCLUSIVE MINSK TRACK, “MEANS TO AN END"

In our never-ending quest to give you, the reader, the best music available, we present the Revolver Bootleg series. Throughout each month, we’ll post cool, new, and often-exclusive tracks right here for you to hear before anyone else.

This installment is an as-yet-unreleased cut from doom metallers Minsk, off their forthcoming new album, With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (Relapse), which hits stores Tuesday, May 26. As part of our unveiling of the track, titled “Means to an End,” we talked to bassist Sanford Parker about its writing, recording, and reverberation.

REVOLVER What’s “Means to an End” about?
SANFORD PARKER “Means to an End” is about what all Minsk songs are about: Personal events in our lives. Music is our way of dealing with the day-to-day ups and downs of being humans on this spinning ball flying through space. Each song deals with a chapter whether it’s positive or negative; it’s our way of expressing ourselves and dealing with personal pain.

Which part of it did you come up with first?
Well, I wrote the music a while ago. It was just a song I had written with no particular use in mind. When it came time to record the album I approached the other guys in the band about using it. We arranged the lyrics in the studio and laid down the percussion. I wanted the vibe to be kind of a southern folk song with a very strong rhythm, something you could sing around a campfire in the middle of the woods somewhere. Very pure and honest.

Was this an easy song to write or record?
Yeah, it went easier than I thought it would. It was that last song we recorded so by that point we where in the zone. Once the vocals got sorted out, it was all downhill from there. The fact that I had a very specific vibe and tone in mind helped to move things along as well.

What sort of feedback have you gotten on this song so far?
So far the feedback has been very positive. It’s definitely a stand-out track on the album. I wouldn’t be surprised if an entire album of songs like this sees the light of day fairly soon.

Minsk: "Means to an End"

Photo by Rob Rush