Swamp doom favourites Froglord begin the next chapter of their ever-expanding amphibious universe with a mystery bonus single, set to feature on the long-awaited vinyl repress of The Mystic Toad, released via Black Throne Productions.
The release follows the momentum of the band’s sixth album, Lower & Slower, continuing to deepen their immersive world of sludge-heavy grooves, psychedelic doom, and swamp-soaked mythology rooted in The Tale of The Froglord.
A recently completed tour was, Froglord says, a blast. “We had eight shows across ten days, starting all the way up in Inverness. That was a fun old journey to get there. Then we slowly worked our way down to our home swamps of Bristol.”
Support from Space Pistol, a band who look amazing. “They’re fantastic,” Froglord says, “and they’re the nicest bunch to go on tour with. We could not have asked for nicer tour buddies for the whole thing, and it’s just the cherry on top that the music’s fantastic.”
The tour was to support the recent release, Lower & Slower – Vol. 1, which, primarily, has been a charity fundraiser endeavour for the Waterfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT). “The campaign for that has just come to an end,” Froglord says, “and I officially put up the post on social media today. It’s about £1,000 that we ended up raising for them. It’s been wonderful.”
As amphibious swamp-dwelling creatures, Froglord says it felt a natural extension to go for the closest swamp-like thing here in the UK. “We’ve got Slimbridge Wetlands Centre, about 30 minutes up the road from us. I spend quite a lot of time there, personally. It’s quite dear to my heart in that respect.”
Lower & Slower – Vol. 1 included the Froglord cover of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man. The seed for this idea came when the band were listening to the track on the way to a gig. “I thought we could do a sludgy version of this, slow it down to about 15 or 20 BPM and drop tune it by a few semitones,” Froglord says. “It was quite a nerve-wracking undertaking, to be honest, trying to cover, arguably, one of Metal’s biggest anthems. I think we heard it, and we thought, yeah, here’s a way we could put our own spin on it.”
Theirs is a cracking version, the slower speed doubling the song’s length. “I think it’s about nine minutes long,” Froglord says, “which, considering it was one of the singles for the record, was quite a bold choice.”
As a band, Froglord had its seed as a little frog spawn in 2020. “I remember it was just after King Gizzard brought out their Infest The Rats’ Nest album. There was one particular song on it, Superbug, which was very poignant because we were in the throes of the COVID lockdowns. I remember listening to that, and I just wanted to create something as powerful. I don’t think I’ve achieved that yet, but we are striving for it, definitely.”
While Lower & Slower – Vol. 1 features songs in Drop A tuning with their new material leaning towards Drop B, a tuning which “makes it a bit easier on the voice” when on tour.
Frogman, the film, was released in 2023. “For those who are unfamiliar, think of the Blair Witch Project, but instead of a Blair Witch, it is the Frogman of Loveland, Ohio. It’s a found footage horror that follows the story of three individuals as they try to document this creature.”
Director Anthony Cousins reached out to the band, saying that he had been working on his first feature film and wanted to work with the band. “We hopped at the opportunity, to be honest,” Frogman says.
The film is a good slow burn for the first half of it. “When it gets to the end of it, it’s fucking nuts. It goes in some crazy directions. I’ve been lucky enough to have an early preview of the second film. When Anthony sent me the synopsis of it, I was just like, ‘Hey, this is a relatively low-budget found footage film, how are you gonna pull this off?’ They have done some incredible stuff, so much fun.” The sequel is on the film circuits in the US currently.
With the “long-awaited” vinyl repress of the Mystic Toad imminent, the band have teased a mystery bonus single which will be out on 3 June 2026.
Froglord has been hounded for the last five years for a repress. The original pressing of 100 was back in 2021. “For anyone who might be familiar with our discography, we’ve churned out at least one album a year,” he says, “and with that kind of release schedule, it’s just been impractical for doing any represses of vinyl.
“Now we’ve landed on the perfect opportunity, partnering up with Black Throne Productions out in Canada. It’s been absolutely amazing. It’s just the prime moment for it, really. Yes, there is a mystery bonus single, which will be at the end.”
With pre-orders starting on 13 May, with a plant pressing at a fairly fast turnaround time, Froglord are hoping that by the end of June, they will all be shipped out. “Probably earlier than that, realistically though.”
Then there is the tour with the Cancer Bats, who are appearing as Bat Sabbath. “We’re still having to pinch ourselves,” Froglord says. “We’re in disbelief about that. It was back in January that I got a message on Instagram from Liam Cormier from Cancer Bats.
“Bear in mind, this is a band that I grew up listening to back in the 2000s, one of the Kerrang! Darlings. I was thinking like, yeah, right, sure you are, mate. I was half expecting the next message to be, ‘Oh, our tour van’s broken down, send us £500 to get back on the road’. But no, it was legit.
“They were looking for a band to join them for the whole two weeks in July. I was just like, ah, we’re not gonna be able to make that availability, we’re so busy as it is already. But all of the other Frogs immediately said yes, we’ll work it out closer to the time. I think it’s all panned out.”
The tour includes a stop in Cardiff, at Clwb Ifor Bach. “The first time we’ve played there,” Froglord says. “We’ve played directly opposite in Fuel quite a number of times. It’s always a cracking place to play. We had a sold-out show at Fuel back in March, I wanna say. So yeah, playing across the road now in a venue that I saw Green Lung play a couple of years ago, is gonna be very cool.”
The band have festivals planned for the summer. “First and foremost, Bloodstock,” Froglord says. “It was our first time playing there in 2024, and now we are returning to the Sophie stage on the Saturday. Opening the Sophie stage on the Saturday of their 25th anniversary feels pretty special. Gonna be the absolute crack of sparrows, rise and slime. I believe in our swamplings that we will have a good population there in the swamp.”
The band will play Stoomfest in London. “We’ll be there with the likes of Stoned Jesus and Colour Haze. They’re bands which I have been in awe of since, well, for a long time now. That’s a stacked line-up.”
For someone totally uninitiated in all things Froglord, he likes to describe it as a live experience. “To see a Froglord show, let’s say, is akin to thundering a swamp at dusk, just as the sun has set. A thick mist rolls over the land, and in the distance you hear the thrumming of drums.
“Slowly, you approach. The fire’s lit. There is a mad gathering of cultists performing a ritual, and in the centre, there is a giant amphibious overlord, pervading all sorts of fumes and slimes, sending everyone into a psychedelic daze, sending yourself into a frenzy.
“When you wake, eventually, the next morning, you’re not sure if it was a dream or real. That’s the best I can use to describe Froglord.”
To pre-order The Mystic Toad and to find out more about Froglord, visit froglord.org.
