Secret Chiefs 3 has announced via Facebook that they plan on releasing a 20th anniversary version of their album Book M in the coming months. The band announced via a long Facebook post what the plans for the release of the album include, and also some backstory behind the album itself and its initial 2001 release. “Book M was meant to cater to THEIR sense of the existence of a lost musical dimension, which was slowly being recovered. So many of you became lifer Secret Chiefs 3 fans in that moment because of your against-the -grain open-ness during that bleak musical period. Your support back then was a major milestone for us,” Secret Chiefs 3 talks about in the post. They go on to explain exactly what they mean by this, telling the story of the fateful day on 9/11/2001 when the album was dropped off on people’s doorsteps, which happened to be the very same day that the Twin Towers fell and changed the trajectory of the American experience.

“20 years ago, albums were released on Tuesdays. Our distributor’s release date was September 18. Our label’s release date was Sept. 11. Our trusty label’s mail-order (which is still going, since 1998!) timed the CD shipment to land on people’s doorsteps right at that fateful moment on Sept 11. So if you’re one of the people who remembers this record playing during the period of major conflagration and upheaval, no you did not hallucinate that, and no you are not alone. A majority of people got the record on Sept 11.” (Via Secret Chiefs 3 Facebook)

Along with this upcoming release, Secret Chiefs 3 plan on releasing a monthly post exploring the different aspects of the album, and its recording process and release. The post reads: “Every third Tuesday of the month we’ll be making a post here that explores one of the dimensions of the Book M record. We’ll just keep posting these comments as “Book M: Third Tuesday Monthly Posts” up until the actual release of Book M 2021. After that we’ll shut up again about it for another 20 years.”

Secret Chiefs 3 is an avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance. Book M was their third record together, and the band has continued to put out music over the course of their expansive career. In this same announcement, Secret Chiefs 3 mentions their newest album, “Holy Vehm is the next upcoming new full-length record, and there is something else new, an unprecedented thing, coming. You’ll hear about it very soon!” Holy Vehm is the heavy metal facet of the band’s identity, creating a sub-identity for fans to enjoy.