The Avett Brothers & Mike Patton – “Heaven’s Breath”

The world is a wondrous, mysterious place. You never know when you’re going to turn around and discover that the Avett Brothers went off and made an entire album with Mike Patton. At a time when Billy Strings is out here ripping Cryptopsy solos, it might not be that surprising that the Avett Brothers, the big-deal neo-traditionalist bluegrass family act, would want to make a record with Mike Patton, legandary frontman of bands like Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. It’s the sort of thing I can imagine them joking about on the tour bus. But it’s a little more surprising that it actually happened. It did happen. AVTT/PTTN comes out next month.

We’ve already heard one taste of the unlikely Avett Brothers/Mike Patton fusion, with the lead single “Eternal Love.” Today, we get another one. Where “Eternal Love” leaned into the Avett Brothers’ folk background, the new song “Heaven’s Breath” is more of a prog-metal freakout. In a press release, Seth Avett compares it to Mr. Bungle’s “Retrovertigo,” and I guess I can see that. Listen below.

AVTT/PTTN is out 11/14 on Thirty Tigers/Ramseur Records/Ipecac Recordings.