KEN mode channels "Bauhaus and Unsane" on chilling new single "He Was a Good Man, He Was a Taxpayer" from upcoming ninth album "VOID"
KEN mode has unveiled "He Was a Good Man, He Was a Taxpayer," the next new single from its upcoming album, VOID. VOID is set for a September 22nd release on Artoffact Records.
Stream the new song, here:
Bandcamp: https://kenmode.bandcamp.com/album/void
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/11ytiC7J5KOK99Tp80uFGW
Released in September of last year, KEN mode's eighth album, NULL, was inspired by the bleakest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the band create some of the rawest, harshest material of its career. The album also marked the official debut of KEN mode's newest member; multi-instrumentalist Kathryn Kerr joined the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Jesse Matthewson, his brother Shane Matthewson on drums, and bassist Skot Hamilton, and helped install a new palette of No Wave and industrial-tinged sounds into the band's trademark mix of metallic hardcore and noise rock.
Amongst other honors, NULL earned KEN mode the front cover of Decibel Magazine, wherein the music was described as "evocative, guttural, Howl-esque poetry laid over frantic, Godflesh-ian soundscapes." A review from Stereogum stated: "NULL is KEN mode at their peak as composers."
Arriving exactly one year after NULL, VOID is KEN mode's ninth full-length album. More than merely the follow-up to NULL, VOID is a companion to that album, inspired by the same events, and written and recorded within the same time frame.
Where NULL embodied the chaos and shock of the early days of the pandemic, VOID is the sound of disappointment and sorrow that followed.
On new single "He Was a Good Man, He Was a Taxpayer," a coiling bassline and austere drumbeat march forward slowly in 6/4 time as Matthewson lays his soul bare. "Now that I'm gone, you're free" he screams repeatedly in the song's final moments.
"Perhaps a little more post-punk than people are used to hearing us, but we had fun playing with synth and pushing the boundaries of the emotionality of this track," he states, reflecting on the new single. "Is this noise goth? I don't know. Does that sound stupid? Did I just invent a new genre? There are equal parts Bauhaus and Unsane on this, so maybe?"
Founded in 1999 by the Matthewson brothers, KEN mode has come to define the intensity and dedication inherent in its name – an acronym for "Kill Everyone Now," coined by Henry Rollins to describe Black Flag's approach to performance. Through its career, KEN mode has toured the world with the likes of Russian Circles, Deafheaven, and Full of Hell, and has worked with such producers as Steve Albini and Kurt Ballou.
Photo by Brenna Faris
Released in September of last year, KEN mode's eighth album, NULL, was inspired by the bleakest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the band create some of the rawest, harshest material of its career. The album also marked the official debut of KEN mode's newest member; multi-instrumentalist Kathryn Kerr joined the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Jesse Matthewson, his brother Shane Matthewson on drums, and bassist Skot Hamilton, and helped install a new palette of No Wave and industrial-tinged sounds into the band's trademark mix of metallic hardcore and noise rock.
Amongst other honors, NULL earned KEN mode the front cover of Decibel Magazine, wherein the music was described as "evocative, guttural, Howl-esque poetry laid over frantic, Godflesh-ian soundscapes." A review from Stereogum stated: "NULL is KEN mode at their peak as composers."
Arriving exactly one year after NULL, VOID is KEN mode's ninth full-length album. More than merely the follow-up to NULL, VOID is a companion to that album, inspired by the same events, and written and recorded within the same time frame.
Where NULL embodied the chaos and shock of the early days of the pandemic, VOID is the sound of disappointment and sorrow that followed.
On new single "He Was a Good Man, He Was a Taxpayer," a coiling bassline and austere drumbeat march forward slowly in 6/4 time as Matthewson lays his soul bare. "Now that I'm gone, you're free" he screams repeatedly in the song's final moments.
"Perhaps a little more post-punk than people are used to hearing us, but we had fun playing with synth and pushing the boundaries of the emotionality of this track," he states, reflecting on the new single. "Is this noise goth? I don't know. Does that sound stupid? Did I just invent a new genre? There are equal parts Bauhaus and Unsane on this, so maybe?"
Founded in 1999 by the Matthewson brothers, KEN mode has come to define the intensity and dedication inherent in its name – an acronym for "Kill Everyone Now," coined by Henry Rollins to describe Black Flag's approach to performance. Through its career, KEN mode has toured the world with the likes of Russian Circles, Deafheaven, and Full of Hell, and has worked with such producers as Steve Albini and Kurt Ballou.
Upon VOID's release in September, KEN mode will embark on a tour of Europe, including dates with Fange and Lingua Ignota, followed by US dates with Baroness and a slot on the next Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Denver.
Tour:
Sep 24 - Porto, PT @ Amplifest
Sep 26 - Rouen, FR @ Le 106 w/Fange
Sep 27 - Lille, FR @ L'Aéronef w/Fange
Sep 28 - Paris, FR @ Point Ephémère w/Fange
Sep 29 - Angoulême, FR @ La Nef w/Fange
Sep 30 - Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Coopérative de Mai w/Fange
Oct 1 - Yverdon-Les-Bains, CH @ L'Amalgame
Oct 2 - Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez w/Fange
Oct 3 - Dresden, DE @ Ostpol w/Fange
Oct 4 - Wroclaw, PL @ Klub Łącznik w/Fange
Oct 5 - Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree w/Fange
Oct 7 - Aalborg, DK @ 1000 Fryd w/Fange
Oct 8 - Aarhus, DK @ HeadQuarters w/Fange
Oct 10 - Liege, BE @ La Zone w/Fange
Oct 11 - Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat w/Fange
Oct 12 - Bruxelles, BE @ Le Botanique w/Fange
Oct 13 - Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
Oct 14 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall w/Lingua Ignota
Oct 31 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre w/Baroness
Tour:
Sep 24 - Porto, PT @ Amplifest
Sep 26 - Rouen, FR @ Le 106 w/Fange
Sep 27 - Lille, FR @ L'Aéronef w/Fange
Sep 28 - Paris, FR @ Point Ephémère w/Fange
Sep 29 - Angoulême, FR @ La Nef w/Fange
Sep 30 - Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Coopérative de Mai w/Fange
Oct 1 - Yverdon-Les-Bains, CH @ L'Amalgame
Oct 2 - Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez w/Fange
Oct 3 - Dresden, DE @ Ostpol w/Fange
Oct 4 - Wroclaw, PL @ Klub Łącznik w/Fange
Oct 5 - Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree w/Fange
Oct 7 - Aalborg, DK @ 1000 Fryd w/Fange
Oct 8 - Aarhus, DK @ HeadQuarters w/Fange
Oct 10 - Liege, BE @ La Zone w/Fange
Oct 11 - Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat w/Fange
Oct 12 - Bruxelles, BE @ Le Botanique w/Fange
Oct 13 - Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
Oct 14 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall w/Lingua Ignota
Oct 31 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre w/Baroness
Nov 3 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile w/Baroness
Nov 4 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre w/Baroness
Nov 6 - Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall w/Baroness
Nov 7 - Calgary, AB @ The Palace Theatre w/Baroness
Dec 1 - Denver, CO @ Decibel Metal & Beer Festival
Photo by Brenna Faris
No comments:
Post a Comment