Photo Credit: Kevyn Reece

Texas thrash-death unit I AM have unleashed their bruising new single 'The Primal Wave', the third track taken from their Eternal Steel full-length, out today via MNRK Heavy.

Watch the video to 'The Primal Wave' here: https://youtu.be/qphJMyEWUsc

Brandishing a unique fusion of ferocious thrash and death metal like a weapon of mass destruction, I AM are purely no-nonsense in their patented “Texas Death” assault. Armed with riffs, speed, and overwhelming power, the band channels discontent and anger into empowering anthems, as likely to inspire a grueling workout as to incite the pit.

Tracks like 'Iron Gate,' 'Infernal Panther,' 'Queen Incarnate,' and Eternal Steel’s title track are demonstrative of the diverse extremes on offer as menacing moods, blistering thrash, and crushing death collide all over the record. The lyrics harness the power of dark subject matter in ways that serve and inspire the listener. “The topic of ‘fear’ is addressed in [latest single] ‘The Primal Wave,’” notes vocalist Andrew Hileman, “but in a way where that fear is used to fuel you to overcome obstacles.”

Hileman further elaborates of the track, "If I could describe this song into a few words I’d use Hileman 'furious power.' It’s very unrelenting and in your face the whole time leaving an uneasy feeling. Getting with Kevyn [Reece] to make this video happen brought our vision of filth to life."

Watch previous videos:
'Surrender To The Blade': https://youtu.be/gKBNsBMTW2k
'The Iron Gate': https://youtu.be/GgzIQ3-zZno

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Randy Leboeuf (Kublai Khan, Sentinels, The Acacia Strain), Eternal Steel, the quintet’s debut for MNRK Heavy, combines the onslaught of the band’s well-received Hard 2 Kill (2018) with the primal bite of Life Through Torment (2017) into a singular statement of intent.

Pre-order Eternal Steel on CD, cassette and vinyl here: http://iam-eternalsteel.com/

I AM have earned a reputation for devastation in the live environment, converting doubters and curious onlookers alike into diehard believers with sweat and determination. And across the two most recent records, they established themselves as a band who never writes the same song twice.

“You won’t mistake one track for another,” Reyes assures. “Not in a way that sounds scattered or disorganized. It’s just that we have a range within our sound. We exercise free rein creatively.”

The death n’ roll groove of Obituary, the street-smart violence of Cro-Mags, it all coalesces into something fresh, exciting, and distinctly I AM. Hearkening to the past of classic metal with a hard shove forward into the future, these guys transcend genre limitations with a sound built to last.

“The band’s music is an angry headbanger’s dream.” – Kerrang!

“I AM reigns supreme.” – New Transcendence

I AM are:
Andrew Hileman – vocals
Tom Reyes – guitar
Chris Burgess – guitar
Erik Rodriguez – bass
Brandon Busa – drums

For more information:
http://www.facebook.com/iamtxmusic
http://twitter.com/iamtxmusic
http://www.instagram.com/iamtxmusic
http://iamtxmusic.bandcamp.com
http://www.mnrkheavy.com
http://www.facebook.com/MNRKHeavy
http://www.twitter.com/MNRKHeavy
http://www.instagram.com/MNRK_heavy

Eternal Steel track-listing:

1. The Primal Wave
2. Surrender To The Blade
3. The Iron Gate
4. Eternal Steel
5. Vicious Instinct
6. Infernal Panther
7. Queen Incarnate
8. Heaven On Earth
9. Price Of Pain
10. Eye Candy
11. Manic Cure

Brighton-based alternative rock band Nature Trip have released a music video for their brand new single 'Do You Mean What You Do'. The track, with lyrical content tackling the topic of one's frustrations in everyday modern society, is taken from the band's new album New Connections, out today.

Watch the video to 'Do You Mean What You Do' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDZce8kfzCc

On the new single, frontman and songwriter Ales states:

"It's a straight-forward, heavy, riff-based song that reflects on our frustrations with society. I feel like we often push ourselves into situations where we feel uncomfortable and incompetent, but try to convince ourselves otherwise. Hopefully this song can wake you up and put you back on track."

On New Connections, the band comment:

"This is a 100% Nature Trip product with minimum interventions. This is how we wanted the record to sound like, and we made sure we were happy with every second of it."

The story of Nature Trip goes back to 2019, when the band members all moved to Brighton around the same time. Ales, Vit and Oto already had quite rich touring experience through their previous bands in Canada, Germany and Czech Republic - the latter being the band’s homeland. Nature Trip stitched their first ideas together with German producer Alex Adelhardt and released their début self-titled EP in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. By mid-2021, they were finally able to perform these songs live on their début show in Brighton’s Prince Albert. 

The band spent 2021 cutting through the Brighton underground, regularly appearing in venues like The Prince Albert, The Hope & Ruin, The Green Door Store and The Pipeline, quickly making their first die-hard fans in the Brighton underground rock scene. After teaming up with producer Alan Day (Four Year Strong) to release their single ‘Away’, band members Ales and Vit continued writing new material and quickly started preparing their first full-length record, this time with Tom Morris (Bloc Party, Glass Animals) on production duties. 

After releasing their single ‘On A Plane’, Nature Trip went on to sell out their first headline show in Brighton in March 2022. The band then returned to their homeland in the summer to perform at Rock for People festival, appearing alongside the likes of Royal Blood, Green Day, Weezer and Biffy Clyro.

Nature Trip’s début, self-produced album New Connections will be out on 9th September. Over half an hour of honest lyrics, catchy choruses and dirty guitars spread across 10 songs, coming straight out of the Nature Trip factory. The album was made with raw passion. Frontman Ales wrote the majority of the material while guitarist Vit produced and mixed the record. The duo state that "New Connections is a 100% Nature Trip product with minimum interventions". They make it very clear that this is how they wanted the record to sound like, and they made sure they were happy with every second of it.

Nature Trip are:

Ales - Vocals / Guitars / Songwriter
Vit - Guitars / Songwriter

Nature Trip online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturetripband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturetripband/
Web: https://www.naturetripmusic.com
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3x9KQyz

Photo Credit: Jan Season

German dark rock quintet Scarlet Dorn have released a video for their new single 'Meteor'. The power ballad is the fourth single from their upcoming third album, Queen of Broken Dreams, due for release on 30th September via SPV Recordings.

Check out the video for 'Meteor' here: https://youtu.be/go2eC0Iu_Q8

Stream 'Meteor' and pre-order Queen of Broken Dreams here: https://scarletdorn.lnk.to/queenofbrokendreams

Scarlet Dorn combine the elegance of darkness with the catchiness of pop. Free of genre boundaries, vocalist Scarlet sings herself directly into the heart of the listener. With industrial sounds, rock ballads and electronic beats, the band takes the listener on a journey through complex human abysses, the world of hope and sorrow, but also directly into the arms of life in all its glory. With her captivating voice, Scarlet exudes a variety of emotions ranging from gentle and tender to menacing and sombre.

Scarlet Dorn was founded in 2016 by producers Chris Harms and Benjamin Lawrenz, together with vocalist Scarlet Dorn. Not only through the release of the albums Lack Of Light and Blood Red Bouquet, but also through tireless touring with Within Temptation, Joachim Witt, Letzte Instanz, Lord Of The Lost among others, the band have already made a name for themselves in the dark music scene in those six short years.

Watch Scarlet Dorn live (w/ Lord Of The Lost)

06.10.22 DE – Nuremberg / Hirsch
07.10.22 DE – Stuttgart / LKA-Longhorn
08.10.22 DE – Cologne / Essigfabrik
12.10.22 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra
14.10.22 AT – Vienna / Szene
15.10.22 DE – Munich / Backstage
20.10.22 DE – Frankfurt / Batschkapp
21.10.22 DE – Leipzig / Täubchenthal
22.10.22 DE – Hanover / Pavillon
27.10.22 DE – Berlin / Columbia Theater
28.10.22 CZ – Prague / Club Storm
29.10.22 PL – Warsaw / Hydrozagadka
02.11.22 DE – Bochum / Zeche
03.11.22 FR – Paris / Petit Bain
04.11.22 FR – Lyon / CCO
05.11.22 ES – Barcelona / Salamandra
06.11.22 ES – Madrid / Mon
09.11.22 IT – Milan / Legend Club
10.11.22 CH – Pratteln / Z7
11.11.22 DE – Kaiserslautern / Kammgarn
12.11.22 DE – Herford / X

Scarlet Dorn are:
Scarlet Dorn - Vocals
Bengt Jaeschke - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Benjamin Mundigler - Bass, Backing Vocals
Gared Dirge - Piano
Henrik Petschull - Drums

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/scarletdornofficial
https://www.instagram.com/scarletdorn_official

Queen of Broken Dreams Tracklisting:
1. Falling
2. Born to Suffer
3. Queen of Broken Dreams
4. Your Highness
5. A Light That Blinds the Truth
6. Meteor
7. Unstill Life
8. When You See Me Again
9. Love Wasn't Made For Me
10. What Are We To Do
11. Tonight
12. A Million Miles Away

Baltimore-based quartet Cherie Amour have released their new single and video 'Letting Go', which will appear on their new album Spiritual Ascension due out 4th November on Rude Records / Equal Vision Records.

Watch the video to 'Letting Go' here: https://youtu.be/tWk0zo9tS5g

Pre-order and pre-save the album here: https://cherieamour.lnk.to/SpiritualAscension

'Letting Go' is Cherie Amour's third single of the year and serves as an impressive statement on the groups self described “nu-punk” sound, expertly combining elements of pop-punk, post-hardcore, RnB, hip hop and metal. Produced by Alan Day (Four Year Strong), the track is a tour de force of hard hitting production with a radio-friendly veneer. Not content to rest on their alternative laurels, the band mixes in an undercurrent of mainstream hip-hop and pop swagger that elevates the track into unique sonic territory. While 'Letting Go' will appeal to a wide range of music lovers, it is anything but formulaic - instead, it serves as a reminder that Cherie Amour have a musical perspective totally their own. The accompanying music video (directed by Casey Reid) adds an engaging visual component that builds a dramatic narrative centred around vocalist Trey Miler.

Vocalist Trey Miller commented: "This was one of the first demos we did that I knew had to be on the album. When Ronnie and I were living together in Baltimore last year, he actually made the initial beat on Ableton and played it for me later that night while we were out on the balcony chiefing and I immediately got to writing. It was that point in the pandemic when I was getting really tired of not being able to go out dancing so I wrote the lyrics from the perspective of being inside one of my favorite bars in Baltimore called 'The Charles'. Me and one of my best friends would go there almost weekly.”

Cherie Amour are both an established act and a new band. Its members - vocalist Trey Miller, guitarists Casey Reid and Brendan Willis and drummer Ronnie Sherman - had been playing together as One Life To Lead, but felt that name didn’t suit their evolving musical style. As a result, they renamed themselves Cherie Amour, and it’s with this moniker that the self-styled "nu-punk" outfit have truly found their sound. The four-piece have done so by mixing together a killer blend of genres that, on paper, make for odd bedfellows, but in the band’s capable hands sound like they’re meant to be together. “It was amongst our goals to not try to prescribe to a certain genre,” says Allen. “We wanted it to be all-encompassing so that you can get out of it what you want and need, and we felt that nu-punk was the best way to describe that simply."

Their latest singles 'Letting Go', 'Love's Not Your Thing' and 'Sin City' serve as follow-ups to acclaimed 2021 debut EP Internal Discussions, both produced by Alan Day (Four Year Strong) and released through Rude Records / Equal Vision Records. Their newest tracks are catchy, hook-laden, emotion-laced journeys through the band's pop-punk foundations mixed with heavy breakdowns and an unapologetic undercurrent of hip-hop inspired pop. A self aware, existential lyrical edge adds an element that confidently breaks down genre barriers and makes all three tracks truly unforgettable experiences for the listener.

The band will join In Her Own Words, Capstan and Shallow Pools on a month long North American tour starting 18th November.

Track listing:

1. Welcome
2. On Deck
3. Sin City
4. Low n Lean
5. Letting Go
6. Mind's Eye
7. Love's Not Your Thing
8. God Be A Woman
9. Spiritual Ascension
10. Losing Control
11. In My Head

Photo Credit: Rich Lester

UK genre-defying quartet Borders have released their new single / video 'Godless', featuring Elijah Witt of Cane Hill. They have also announced the release of new album Bloom Season on 18th November via Arising Empire.

Watch the video to 'Godless' here: https://youtu.be/CE_PMNBKI58

Pre-order Bloom Season on CD, limited coloured vinyl and merch at the Arising Empire shop: https://arisingempire.com/bloomseason

On the single, the band comment: "'Godless' is about questioning your faith during your darkest hour. I wrote it when one of my close family members fell ill, I thought to myself if there was a God why would they allow such thing to happen. Coming from a religious background, I wrote this in anger and frustration. It should be normal to question your faith, especially when faith is the problem - and that's what 'Godless' is all about."

Borders combine ferocious, hard-hitting metalcore with elements of hip-hop, grime, hardcore and alternative metal, completed with a dash of introspection and brazen, no-holds-barred atmosphere. The quartet are a young but driven collective hellbent on taking the heavy music community by storm with an onslaught of thought-provoking, sinister and brutally aggressive tracks. Built around an impetus that obliterates any notion of single-genre classification in favour of an immersive yet punishingly heavy experience, Borders continually push the limits of what's expected from any band in the metalcore circuit.

From taking the UK’s live music scene by storm supporting legendary deathcore act Martyr Defiled on their last run to their immersive, conceptual and thought-provoking 2019 debut full length release Purify, the band are well on their way to making themselves a staple in the underground heavy music community - a goal sure to be achieved with their addition to Arising Empire’s ever-growing roster.

Bloom Season track listing:

01. FADE TO BLACK
02. FIX THISS
03. SUFFER
04. NWWM feat. Dropout Kings
05. I GET HIGH
06. GASLIGHT
07. GODLESS feat. Cane Hill
08. CUT THE ROPE
09. MDM

Borders are:
Jordan Olifent | vocals
Gavin Burton | guitar & vocals
Tom Britton | bass
Dan Hodson | drums

Borders online:
https://www.instagram.com/bordersbanduk
https://www.facebook.com/bordersbanduk
https://www.tiktok.com/@bordersbanduk
https://twitter.com/bordersbanduk
https://bordersbanduk.com/

Photo Credit: Jonathan Vahid

Metallic hardcore/grindcore group Escuela Grind have released their barnstorming new single 'Forced Collective Introspection', from their forthcoming album Memory Theater, set for release on 30 September via the band's new label home of MNRK Heavy.

Watch the video for 'Forced Collective Introspection' here: https://youtu.be/9bNU938oYtw

Pre-order Memory Theater now here: https://escuelagrind.ffm.to/memorytheater

Directed by Michael Jari Davidson (Alice in Chains), the barn-burning video is an ode to the 1971 science fiction film, THX 1138, a work of sociological commentary set in a dystopian world where individuality and love are forbidden.

"We again teamed up with director Michael Jari Davidson to create the video for 'Forced Collective Introspection', says Escuela Grind vocalist Katerina Economou. "The video references 1971's anti-authoritarian movie THX 1138, where the band is held in a white void by masked guards, and reduced to objectified numbers. Harassed in prison cells, the band makes their escape in a Shawshank fashion. The theme of the video runs throughout all of our music: we must resist and attempt to escape their control to regain our humanity."

Produced by Converge guitarist/ God City producer Kurt Ballou, Escuela Grind's Memory Theater features nine tracks of sharp, scorching underground music that rage and rip in equal measure. Escuela Grind excel at stitching together a new metallic hardcore monster, borne from the rotten corpses of grind and power violence and littered with gleefully unhinged blasts of percussive bombast and chaos.

The music might be terrifying, but the overwhelming spirit behind Escuela Grind is a message of empowerment. As it destroys musical boundaries, the quartet attack the idea of “gatekeeping” with equal ferocity. Any time Katerina Economou (vocals), Jesse Fuentes (drums), Kris Morash (guitar), and Tom Sifuentes (bass, touring) convene, an aural apocalypse will ensue.

Memory Theater, Escuela Grind's sophomore album, is seven minutes shorter than Slayer’s Reign in Blood, but with a few songs running past the three-minute mark, it’s downright epic by grindcore norms. Delivering on the promise of several split records, a handful of EPs (including GGRRIINNDDCCOORREE and PPOOWWEERRVVIIOOLLEENNCCEE, both released in 2020), and the full-length, Indoctrination, the nine songs on Memory Theater offer a near-psychedelic trip to the genre’s soul. The album title references a specific historical concept, constructing a “space” from one’s internal ideas, knowledge, and perception. An architect by trade, Economou explores philosophy, politics, and experiential experimentation, building a kind of structure amidst the band's musical cacophony.

Escuela Grind, who performed as one of the featured acts at the 2022 Psycho Las Vegas festival, are currently in the midst of a U.S. headlining tour. The 23-city Forced Collective Introspection" tour launched on September 3 in Salem, MA and includes performances at New England's RPM Fest, Illinois' Full Terror Assault Open Air, and Cleveland's Hacked Up for BBQ death fest.

For more information on Escuela Grind:
Facebook || Website || Twitter || Instagram || MNRK Heavy

Track listing:

1. Endowed With Windows
2. My Heart, My Hands
3. Cliffhanger
4. Strange Creature
5. Faulty Blueprints
6. All Is Forgiven
7. Forced Collective Introspection
8. The Feed
9. Memory Theater

About MNRK Music Group

MNRK Music Group is one of the largest independent music companies in the world, with recording, music publishing, and management divisions operating in every major music market. MNRK is committed to discovering and guiding top music creators and artists and works with some of the greatest musical talent including The Lumineers and Pitbull, the music publishing catalog of Chuck Berry, plus premier music companies Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang. The company’s music department services Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning producers. Its catalog across divisions consists of 54,000 music tracks, including multiple GRAMMY winners and platinum-selling hits.To learn more visit mnrk.com.

Photo Credit: Marcus Marino

Floridian thrashers Rhythm of Fear have unleashed their sobering new single / video 'Insidious System', taken from new album Fatal Horizons, due for release on 14th October 2022 via MNRK Music Group.

Check out the video for 'Insidious System' here: https://youtu.be/Fss-d739ZG8

Pre-order Fatal Horizons here: http://www.fatalhorizons.com

The band comment on 'Insidious System': "'Insidious System' is about the corrupt system that we have appointed to protect us. A system that should serve and protect but instead enforces and collects. A system that thrives off of fear and manipulation. A system that infringes on our basic human rights. It’s been going on for so long and we can only hope that the more people realize how poisonous it all is the better chance there is for change.”

Rhythm of Fear worship at the alter of thrash metal and crossover. Summoned from the sadistic swamps of Jacksonville, in Florida's heavy-metal rich soil, the masters of gargantuan groove conjured a reverence unrivalled by their peers. Committed to the unrelenting riffage, Rhythm of Fear gleefully reinvigorates the timeless collision of speed, musicianship, and attitude.

Unapologetic bangers like 'Dark Energy' and 'Ten Theories' quickly became underground classics to a growing legion of like-minded supporters who snapped up the band's 2011 demo, The Mass Illusion EP (2015), and full-length debut Maze of Confusion (2016). The appetite for devastation only intensified with the Ritual Dementia EP (2019), featuring 'Vortex of Torment' and the impassioned 'Over And Out'; a deep cut from the early power metal years of Pantera.

Now, the band threatens to conquer the hearts and minds of all in metal, with the vitriolic, thrashtastic, cirle-pit-inciting Fatal Horizons, their sophomore slab of cleverly crafted crossover. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Joey Jones (Royal Thunder, Cloak), with sci-fi/horror artwork from Mario Lopez (Toxik, Skeletal Remains, Evil Invaders), Fatal Horizons' thirteen-tracks are richly thematic and devilishly accessible in equal measure.

Rather than simply rehash the past, Rhythm of Fear absorb and examine metal history's greatest strengths, reassembling the parts into a fresh Frankenstein forged by the band's unique identity and experience. This is straight forward and in your face.

“On Fatal Horizons, we’ve come even more into our own,” notes vocalist Jay Santiago. “Maze Of Confusion was very thrash metal and very hardcore driven. Aside from our lead guitar player, all of us grew up in the hardcore scene. We established ourselves as a true crossover band, with fast metal parts and funky hardcore grooves. There’s still a bit of groovy flavor, but Fatal Horizons is even thrashier.”

Thematically, Fatal Horizons delves deeper into the human psyche with relatable themes of depression, addiction, and anger. Alien abduction, magic rituals, and the occult pepper their songs with personality and spirit while the justice system and politics are targets within the framework of broader fantasy metaphors.

Album opener 'Obsolescence' confronts addiction. 'Alien Synthesis' is about the aftermath of the abduction. The title track puts the listener at the centre of a black hole. 'Parasomniac' details Santiago’s struggles with the sleep disorder EHS, aka Exploding Head Syndrome, which awakens sufferers with imagined sounds. The simulation hypothesis is at the heart of 'Simulated Times,' inspired by one of Santiago’s dreams. There are instrumental interludes throughout Fatal Horizons, synergising the cosmic themes of mortality. 'Ceremony Of Sacrifice' closes it all with an exploration of Mayan and Aztec mythology.

Rhythm of Fear are:
Jay Santiago - vocals
Cody James - guitars
Justin Styron - Bass
Logan Miano - drums

For more information:
http://www.facebook.com/rhythmoffear
http://www.instagram.com/rhythmoffear
http://www.twitter.com/rhythmoffear

Fatal Horizons Tracklisting:
1. Obsolescence
2. Alien Synthesis
3. Disintegration Of Reality
4. Fatal Horizon
5. Atrocities Beyond The Structures Of The Mind
6. Parasomniac
7. Insidious System
8. Self Destructive Brain
9. Dissolution Of Time In Space
10. Simulated Times
11. Tears of Ecstasy
12. Oath Made In Hell
13. Ceremony Of Sacrifice

Photo Credit: Daniel Dorta

Toronto-based alt-rock band BRKN LOVE have released their new single 'Under The Knife'. The track features on their upcoming Vol. 2 EP, due for release on 23rd September via Spinefarm Records. 

Check out 'Under The Knife' and pre-save Vol. 2 here: https://brknlove.lnk.to/Vol2

After the success of their Vol.1 EP, which featured singles 'Dead Weight' and 'Like A Drug', and the recent release of 'Forever’s Enough' off their upcoming Vol.2 EP, 'Under The Knife' once again showcases how well songwriter/frontman Justin Benlolo uses all the tools in his arsenal to firmly position BRKN LOVE in the young, modern rock revolution.

Benlolo comments:

“'Under The Knife' is our most daring single yet. This song takes everything that people have been familiar with before, injects it with a shot of adrenaline, makes it listen to its older brother’s hardcore records and kicks it into a high-speed chase down the highway at 155mph. Needless to say, it’s an absolute rager.

"Lyrically, the song details a toxic relationship in which the people are actually enjoying the pain it brings them. The main character’s perspective is one I’ve never written from before. The character actively admits that the scrutiny and torture is something that is giving his life purpose, and throughout the song it results in him doing anything he can to continue this terrible situation. I felt like although this wasn’t a particularly happy subject, it was something different and relatable in many ways.

"I hope you enjoy the song! Make sure you turn it up LOUD! Thank you.”

BRKN LOVE are gearing up to play a number of shows across North America in support of Dead Poet Society and The Blue Stones, while also playing some of their first US headline dates along the way.

Benlolo adds: 

“We cannot wait to hit the road with our friends, Dead Poet Society and The Blue Stones, this Fall! These shows will truly be ones to remember. It’s been a minute since we’ve gone across Canada and we’re beyond excited to be with friends. On top of that, we are also playing our very first batch of headlining shows plus dates across the USA with more friends! All these shows will truly be ones to remember and the likelihood of them being off the rails is very high.
 
"In conjunction with this tour, we will also be releasing our second LP Black Box, which will make this super special and you can expect lots of new material to be played! It’s not every day that you get great, young, upcoming rock bands playing together like this, so you better come out and party with us!”

For full dates head to the BRKN LOVE website: https://www.brknlove.com/

For more information:
https://www.brknlove.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BRKNLOVEMUSIC/
https://twitter.com/BRKNLOVEMUSIC/
https://www.instagram.com/brknlovemusic/

About BRKN LOVE:

Fronted by the compelling Justin Benlolo, BRKN LOVE have been creating quite the stir since the release of their self-titled debut album. Picking up over 253 million streams to date, with their Spotify monthly listeners peaking at 580k, single 'Shot Down' landed at #15 in US Active Rock radio charts and #5 in the Canadian equivalent, whilst 'Crush' reached #5 in Canada’s Active Rock radio charts.
Additionally, the band's cover of Bishop Briggs' 'River' has become something of a viral sensation. Recorded specifically for a special deluxe version of their debut record, it currently has over 50,000 unique TikTok videos featuring the track, boasting over 1.9 billion total views across all user and professionally-generated content platforms.

Previous single 'Deadweight', the first new track to follow the band's debut album, went straight in the Top 15 on Canadian Active Rock radio and has seen the hype carry overseas, with BBC Radio One presenters Dan P. Carter and Jack Saunders both giving the song airtime. Saunders called it “The new age of rock and roll” on his BBC Radio One Future Artists show.

Meanwhile, amongst all this early success, Justin Benlolo has been picked up by Gibson Guitars to promote the new line of Gibson Guitar Strings.

Californian sludge metal crew Armed For Apocalypse have released their tortured new single, 'Live Through The Storm', ahead of their third album release, Ritual Violence, which debuts on 7th October via Candlelight Records.

Check out third single, ‘Live Through The Storm’ here: https://youtu.be/a2hfB7l4WCY
Pre-order the album here: https://armedforapocalypse.lnk.to/RitualViolence

Vocalist Nate Burman comments on the caustic new single: “At the time that I wrote this I was in a pretty dark place in life and found myself being wildly self-destructive. It was right at the peak of the pandemic so I was also pretty isolated from everyone which really started getting to me. I remember finding myself just trying to drink through the boredom and depression night after night. That’s also partially where the album title comes from. It felt like every night was a ritual of self destruction. It’s a vicious cycle that’s hard to break."

Forthcoming new album Ritual Violence is an uncompromising aural onslaught and sees the band at their most aggressive. Both a product and expression of their never-die attitude, it’s the album Armed for Apocalypse always wanted to make, with the engineer they wanted to make it Kurt Ballou, God City (Converge, High On Fire, Every Time I Die ) and the label they wanted to partner with, Candlelight Records. Featuring guest appearances from Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) on track 'Foredoomed' and Trevor Phipps (Unearth) on 'Suffer For A Living', it is Armed for Apocalypse refined to its purest form: 0 percent frills,100 percent heavy riffs.

Forming in California in the aughts, Armed for Apocalypse quickly released 2009’s Defeat (Ironclad Recordings). That’s where they laid out their mission statement: we are going to tune low, play riffs, and make heavy metal that makes you bang your fucking head. Real amps turned up, real drums hit hard, no bullshit. 2013’s The Road Will End (Ironclad) complicated their thesis, the band experimenting with new structures and incorporating a broader sonic palette. But member changes and new life directions led to a challenging five years before their next release, 2018’s Palm Reader EP. Now, in 2022, they return more focused than ever with their most potent and unwavering album to date. Ritual Violence is eleven tracks of bludgeoning skullf*ckery; a record from a band who are confident in who they are, and what they want to do. And who won’t let anything get in the way of that. Not the years. Not the heartache. Not an industry that devalues its creators. Nothing.

Armed for Apocalypse has never done it the easy way. But on this latest record is a statement and a promise: they will do it their way.

Armed for Apocalypse are:
Nate Burman - Vocals / Guitar
Cayle Hunter - Guitar
Charlie Fischer - Bass
Nick Harris - Drums

Armed for Apocalypse online:
Facebook || Twitter || Instagram

Candlelight Records online:
Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Youtube

Tracklisting:
01: Under My Shame
02: Frail
03: Full Of Phlegm
04: Hourglass
05: Lifeless
06: Live Through The Storm
07: Foredoomed
08: Thieves Of Existence
09: Suffer For A Living

10: Flesh And Blood
11: Eternally Broken