Weinrich strips it down to the raw essence on his new solo album. What began as an intimate, unplugged journey soon demanded the fiery pulse of drums and electric guitars, resulting in a powerful blend of haunting introspection and unshakable conviction.

“When a friend ended a letter to me with the phrase ‘Create Or Die’, I realized that simple slogan summed up my philosophy completely,” Wino said. “Whether it’s making music or art, that’s what I do. It’s what I live for.”

These songs are personal, passionate commentaries on life, delivered with Wino‘s signature grit and soul. Featuring contributions from close friends and the unwavering support of Ripple Music, this album is a testament to the creed he’s lived by: create or die. Wino says: “There are songs on this record that are old and new, as sometimes I carry song ideas around for years before I can call them finished. For others, when concept, music, and lyrics come together right then and there, that’s what I call the divine inspiration.”

About the first single “New Terms”, Wino comments: “In my head, I had always heard the Irish bodhrán drum — a traditional instrument I love — on this tune. I mentioned this to my engineer and friend Frank Marchand. It turns out that for years, Frank had been the sound engineer for the enormously successful traditional-yet-modern Irish folk band WE BANJO THREE. He suggested sending the track to them and having the brothers lay down the drum and a traditional Irish banjo. They were glad to do it, dug the song, and here it is. I want to thank Frank Marchand, Fergal Scahill and Enda Scahill for making this song shine!”

“Create Or Die” was produced and engineered by Frank Marchand and Wino. Mastered by Alan Douches, it will be issued on vinyl, CD and digital formats, with preorders available now via Ripple Music.

Wino formed his first band THE OBSESSED in 1978, starting the reign of “heavy and slow” decades before doom grew into a flourishing worldwide genre unto itself. A few years later, he moved to California to join SAINT VITUS, with whom he released the seminal “Born Too Late” (1986),one of the most powerful statements in doom’s early history, with Wino‘s raspy, heartfelt and punk-charged vocals booming loudly above the crowd of howling, gimmicky Ozzy Osbourne copycats.

Following a reformation of THE OBSESSED and a brief major-label flirtation in the early 1990s, which included a piledriving update of BLACK SABBATH‘s “The Wizard” alongside Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Rob Halford, Wino formed yet another influential outfit, SPIRIT CARAVAN. The new band fused his trademark sludgy churn with an increased soulfulness, beginning to lay the groundwork for his eventual exploration of acoustic and expansive songwriting. During this time, Dave Grohl also invited Wino to join his all-star PROBOT project alongside Lemmy Kilmister, King Diamond, Max Cavalera and other notables.

Numerous world tours with his various bands later, the creative source remained inexhaustible as Wino embarked on a new direction with the release of his solo debut, “Punctuated Equilibrium”, quickly followed by a second solo LP, “Adrift”, in 2010, a series of collaborations with German folk songwriter Conny Ochs, and “Forever Gone” in 2020. Wino embarked on extensive European and North American tours as a solo act, continuing to maintain his thriving solo output even with the arrival of a much-heralded and welcomed re-constitution of THE OBSESSED formed for the third time in 2017. THE OBSESSED, now a four-piece, has toured extensively since 2020, and released its latest studio album, “Gilded Sorrow”, to great acclaim in 2023 on Ripple Music.

Today, Wino is respected all over the world as the godfather of doom and one of underground heavy music’s most revered lifers. Worldwide festivals like Roadburn, Hellfest, Psycho Las Vegas, Desertfest, Maryland Deathfest, Rock Hard Festival, Monolith On The Mesa and countless others keep inviting Wino back through his various sonic incarnations year after year.