So begins the extraordinary tale of Swedish 'bad luck boogie' combo THE TOWER, whose cryptic, swinging timewarp of a debut LP is now released via London's Bad Omen Records. The offbeat freakbeat and phantasmagorical psych-blues of Hic Abundant Leones exude an ageless charm and resounding singularity, striking eerie, dreamlike atmospheres that seemingly confirm THE TOWER's eccentric parallel-universe narrative. Sorting facts from the fantasy of the band's complex mythology proves onerous; the quartet bonded during "long, all-night rehearsals in an old vicarage outside of Uppsala" and "began as some kind of personal quest for us but once we realised that we had a gospel we started preaching it. It is not something new. It is as ancient as the Sumerian blues records played by the Dionysos cults of the Postapocalyptic Era. Moreover, there have always been prophets of this gospel: wrayed Indians, electric shamans, crazy horses, black skinheads, exhumed singers, diddlying sheriffs, mean lick hookers, third eye girls, many a stooge, all-man brothers, Birmingham attendants of the Sabbath, and many, many more." Colored vinyl.