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Swami John Reis and Rick Froberg have been makingnoises together since high school. In 1986 it was the post-hardcore chime ofPitchfork. In 1991 it was the sprawling, multi-faceted arrangements of DriveLike Jehu. In 1999 it was the lean, mean swagger of . Reis andFroberg are responsible for some of the most turbulent rock and roll of their,or any, generation.

Hot Snakes streamlined Jehu’s complex compositionsand emerged as bona fide downstroke warlords. They made 3 studio albums ofhigh-velocity, slash-your-face, piss-punk: 2000’s ,2002’s  and 2004’s Theband ceased activity in 2005 but reunited for a triumphant world tour in 2011,planting the seeds for what has cum.

Now, after a 14-year hiatus from the studio, HotSnakes have kicked down the door back into our lives with their new album, JerichoSirens, due out March 16 from Sub Pop. Fresh, warm piss, bottled and soldas lube.

“I considered stopping playing guitar on a socialmedia poll after I completely mastered the instrument," Reis says. “But somany people kept sending me letters and voicemail messages, asking me at the drycleaners, or the butcher shop to bring back Hot Snakes. They were missing rockand roll music. I’ve always considered Hot Snakes to be more in the vein of theproto-Vog movement of the early ‘70s. But to these people, this is their rock ‘n’roll. I understand that. I totally understand people's desire to be controlledand humiliated by my guitar. Anyone can play the stupid guitar. What they wantis for me to use it as a branding iron."

The new album blasts out of the speakers with thefurious “I Need a Doctor,” inspired by Froberg’s experience needing a doctor'snote in order to miss an important work function. “Yeah, I had to be quick onmy feet," says Rick. "Luckily a friend had a stack of stationary fromPlanned Parenthood and I used that to forge a note relieving me of myobligation to go to a really lame Christmas party at a karaoke joint.”

Throughout Jericho Sirens, Frobergcommiserates with the frustration and torrential apathy that seems to be afixture in our daily lives, while also reminding us that we have no fuckingclue. “Songs like ‘Death Camp Fantasy’ and ‘Jericho Sirens’ are about that,” hesays. “No matter where you look, there’re always people saying the world’sabout to end. Every movie is a disaster movie. I’m super fascinated by it. Itis hysterical, and it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It snowballs, likefeedback, or my balls on the windshield.”

Musically, the album incorporates the most extremefringes of the Hot Snakes sound (the vein-bulging, 78-second “Why Don’t It SinkIn?” the manic, Asian Blues on speed of “Having Another?”), while staying trueto longstanding influences such as the Wipers, Dead Moon, Michael Jackson, andSuicide on propulsive tracks such as “Six Wave Hold-Down,” one of the firstsongs written for the project during a Mummer Parade 2017 session inPhiladelphia. Other moments like the choruses of “Jericho Sirens” and“Psychoactive” nod to Status Quo and AC/DC with Froberg admitting, “I stillflip bird and ride my BMX on top of cop cars.”

“My muse was love. It sounds like panic and chaos,”Reis says. “Restlessness and unease. That’s a sound that I would ask for. Iwant that record. The inspiration would be simple, maybe even kind ofstraightforward. Very early rock ‘n’ roll DNA with lots of rules. I would findsome note or rhythm in it that captivated me and I dwelled on it and bent it.That's where I found dissonance. Bending and rubbing against each otheruncomfortably. Marinate and refine. A lot of the other Hot Snakes recordsalways had tension and release, but this one is mainly just tension.”

Jericho Sirens was recorded in shortbursts over the past year, mostly in San Diego and Philadelphia with longtimebassist Gar Wood, Jason Kourkounis and Mario Rubalcaba, both of whom drummed onprior Hot Snakes releases but never on the same one. For Reis, reactivating hiscreative partnership with Froberg was one of the most rewarding aspects of theprocess: “Our perspectives are similar. Our tastes are similar. He is myfamily. And what more is there to say? My favorite part of making this recordwas hearing him find his voice and direction for this record. I came hard."

In tandem with a full back catalog reissue series and the new album, HotSnakes will return to the road in 2018 to incinerate the villages, and they’realready looking ahead to more music. Says Gar Wood, “There're already 2 morerecords written and recorded. We wanted to come out with this one using themore mainstream sounding stuff to give people a chance to catch up.”