Primus have surprise-released a new EP ‘A Handful Of Nuggs’, which includes the eccentric new song ‘The Ol’ Grizz’ – check it out below.
The Les Claypool-fronted band have not released a studio album since ‘The Desaturating Seven’ in 2017, but this new release is expected to be the first tease of a new full-length release in 2027.
The four-track EP, which is streaming now and will receive a physical release on July 20 (pre-order here), also includes their 2025 single ‘Little Lord Fentanyl’, which featured Puscifer, as well as a cover of Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ and a live version of ‘Duchess (And The Proverbial Mind Spread)’.
‘The Ol’ Grizz’ captures the classic Primus sound, with Claypool’s bounding basslines and manic drumming from John Hoffman underscoring a rollicking mutant country aesthetic.
Check it out here:
Primus are heading out on a UK and European tour this summer, kicking off in Milan on July 31. They will arrive at Manchester’s Academy on August 17, followed by stops in Glasgow, London and Bristol in subsequent days. See the complete list of dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
That tour follows on from the ‘Claypool Gold’ tour, which will see three of the musician’s bands – Primus, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – playing across 25 UK cities.
New live dates also come following Primus sharing the “complete shock” departure of their longtime drummer Tim Alexander in 2024, and holding auditions for a replacement.
They eventually went with John Hoffman, a drummer from Shreveport, Louisiana who has a significant following on YouTube, was announced last year.
He made his debut with the band during the ‘Sessanta’ tour last year, which saw Primus join Puscifer and A Perfect Circle again in a three-way-co-headline run of tour dates, celebrating the 60th birthday of Maynard James Keenan.
Elsewhere, Claypool reflected earlier this year on being rejected after auditioning for Metallica in 1986. “I didn’t know how popular they were,” he said, explaining that he botched the audition with his lighthearted approach. “We played a song or two and I said, ‘Hey, you guys want to jam on some Isley Brothers?’ Nobody laughed.”