War is hell, and Technical Deathcore giants, ๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ, are showing us we've always been prone to our own annihilation with their newest single, "๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐ ", an absolute beat-down of a track, splaying open the flesh of politics inside the war machine for all to gaze upon. Being their now third single released from their upcoming fifth album, ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐, releasing June 27th (via ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง), damn is this nasty, and an instant classic for the Deathcore world. Paired with a macabre of a music video, if you're new, or already a fan, peel back your eyelids, and embrace our own Hell.
Previously being a themed project from the popular acclaimed video game ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ (Shadow of Intent being the name of a Covenant ship in the lore) for their first two albums, the Connecticut band are taking us into the trenches of human conflict. The previous released singles off the upcoming album, 2024's "Flying The Black Flag" and "Feeding The Meatgrinder" feat. Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse, are brought to us without mercy, and further we dare not flinch with this new track.
Guitarist ๐๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง and drummer ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ซ come out the gate of this track, both winding up for death-metal inspired violence, and, for every metal headโ we know the circle pit sound when we hear it. Then it opens up, with vocalist ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐ซ and bassist ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ข๐๐ฌ joining in the massacre. This is a song where I know bodies are flying within the first 10 seconds of it. Ben's vocal ability is volatile, from his iconic gutturals to crisp and pronounced highs, this frontman is a force to be reckoned with amongst the extreme metal community. There's grooves, blast beats, technical riffing, a massacre slam of a breakdownโ this has it all. Chris has another showcase of his guitar dominance with over 40 seconds of a guitar solo, paired with Bryce's articulated drums backing it, this thing went from visceral to cinematic within a blink of an eye.
Lyrically, the band departed from Halo-themed content after their first two albums, and Ben has brought us into the human conditionโ the rot of the battlefield. For the release, the band chose to only quote ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐, an English nurse and statistician during The Crimean War in the 1850's:
What the horrors of war are, no one can imagine. They are not wounds and blood and fever, spotted and low, or dysentery, chronic and acute, cold and heat and famine. They are intoxication, drunken brutality, demoralization and disorder on the part of the inferior... jealousies, meanness, indifference, selfish brutality on the part of the superior.
Released along with the track is a provoking music video, a violent macabre showing conflicts spanning from 15.000 BC in Ethiopia, to 1600 AD in France, 1940 Europe during World War II, to a potential 2115 AD futureโ all showcasing we as a species have been, and always will be, consumed by domination over one another. Despite the reasonโ creed, money, land claims, corruptionโ we bring ourselves to our own knees. The world being in various world aggression presently, Shadow of Intent are observing it all, and they're telling us history does, in fact, repeat itself. This is not a political review but, as a veteran myself, I understand where these guys are absolutely coming from, and why they're throwing it at us now.
"Infinity of Horrors" Official Music Video
The upcoming album is being look forwarded to by metal fans, and whether you're taking in this message of human rot, or just want to enjoy high-caliber extreme metal and hit your friends to it, "๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐" is going to deliver what you need.
Shadow of Intent is about to head out with extreme metal staples, Lorna Shore, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Peeling Flesh this coming fall. Tickets start selling Friday, May 23rd. Grab them here:
