Year Of The Knife Release Surprise EP, ‘Dust To Dust’

YEAR OF THE KNIFE (YOTK) have surprise released a stunning new EP ‘Dust To Dust’ today, Thursday 2nd February, via the ever excellent Pure Noise Records (Knocked Loose, State Champs, Drug Church).

The EP is the bands first new music since the release of their hugely received album ‘Internal Incarceration’ that was released in August 2020.

The three-song EP, ‘Dust To Dust‘, was produced and engineered by, Taylor Young, (Nails, God’s Hate, Twitching Tongues) clocking in at a blistering seven minutes, and it finds YOTK continuing to push their huge, abrasive and unapologetically hard hitting sound forward, tapping into new corners of the heavy music landscape while not losing an ounce of the ferocity that’s endeared them to a legion of underground listeners.

“Being straight edge is something that has always connected and driven the band, and that is still heavily present,” vocalist Madison Watkins explains. “Building from that thematic foundation, my lyrics are through the lens of my own experiences and demons.”

Speaking about the new EP, Madison explains, “The Dust to Dust EP is a product of everything we’ve been inspired by since our last record. We used the unexpected downtime to focus all of our energy on writing, and wanted to combine our existing sound with these new influences to push our boundaries and make our most pissed songs yet. This EP is an evolution in the direction of our sound while staying true to the core of our inspiration and values. We recorded with Taylor Young at the Pit in Van Nuys, CA. Everyone clicked right away and found that we had the same direction in mind for the production of the songs. Taylor was incredible to work with, and after admiring so many of his projects (Nails, Twitching Tongues, and Ruckus to name a few), it was great to work with him and hear his input on our music.”

Going into bit more detail on the tracks on ‘Dust To Dust’, Madison breaks down some of their lyrical meaning, “Ctrl+C is about societal pressure to be perfect, and chasing an unattainable goal that is sold by the media. I wrote on my experiences of feeling that I had to sacrifice my body and mind in order to fit what was desired or expected. The lyrics describe the decision to break from those pressures and find yourself whether people like you for it or not. ‘Victim’ is about people that can’t see past themselves and their own problems and pain to empathise with others. We can’t help the hand we are dealt in life, but we can decide what we do with those cards. Some people use their circumstances as an excuse to mistreat and manipulate others, and to garner pity. I wrote the lyrics to ‘Victim’ while listening to a lot of Irate. ‘Dust to Dust’ is about the frustration and pain of loving someone who struggles with addiction, but doesn’t want to get better. This is an agony that can be difficult to understand unless you’ve felt it first hand. It was really heavy to write these lyrics, because there is a lot of guilt associated with the anger I feel. More than anything I empathise and sympathise with addicts, but that understanding doesn’t stop the pain that’s been inflicted either. It’s the first song that we wrote since Internal Incarceration. Aaron had been listening to a lot of Dystopia and crust punk, which drove the fast, aggressive direction of the song.”

YOTK are set to play two UK shows this April with Unearth and Misery Index.

2023

6th April – Corporation, Sheffield, UK
7th April – The Warehouse,Leeds, UK
8th April – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK

Check out ‘Dust To Dust’ below.

New Music Roundup 03/07/20

First things first, I do apologise that there was no new music or music video post last friday! Since lockdown has lifted the restrictions on shops in the UK, it meant that I was back at work and because a few team members from my shop couldn’t come back yet, I stepped up and took on their hours to help out my store.

And now, We’re back for a roundup of five of the best recently released tracks and sometimes a little information that comes with them! They’re not all within the same genre and they’re all different in some way or another but that means that there’s a little something for everyone here but come on, let’s get down to the music (videos)!

First up this week are the 2020 anthemic kings known as Angels & Airwaves who’ve got a new single titled as ‘All That’s Left Is Love’, which comes off their upcoming TBC sixth record.

Tom DeLonge had the follow to say on the record.

“We never appreciate the connection we have with others until it’s gone, and although we may not be able to change this first part of this story, we can for sure change the ending.”

Check out ‘All That’s Left Is Love’ below.

Up next, we have the Like Pacific. The track, ‘Hands Tied’ have an unreleased B-side from their 2016 record, ‘Distant Like You Asked’ for everyone to enjoy. The track also features Comeback Kids ‘Andrew Neufeld lending vocals for the track.

“This song was crazy when we recorded it. It was wild to have Andrew Neufeld on a track. I must have listened to ‘Wake The Dead’ and ‘Broadcasting…’ all through high school. I’m glad it’s seeing the light of day. I was probably the angriest I was when recording ‘Distant Like You Asked’. After the death of my grandmother and a manipulative ex, it definitely was an abrasive one.”

Time for something a little more tifftastic now. Their debut record, ‘Internal Incarceration’ is set to drop in a few months times but until then we have the phenomenal ‘Manipulation Artist’.

‘Manipulation Artist’ is a swirling mass of razor wire riffs and bludgeoning breakdowns that the band say is about “questioning your own sanity while you are trapped in a cycle of abuse from a manipulative, toxic partner. One day of happiness overshadows the pain until it starts all over again.”

Moving into heavy territory we have the Hamilton based Counterparts. The band released their latest record, ‘Nothing LEft To Love’ last year and now, there’s some brand new B-Sides from the record which didn’t make the cut.

The two tracks are called ‘Purer Form Of Pain’ and ‘Strings Of Separation’ so I’m going to flip a coin for which to post this week. The winner? ‘Strings Of Separation.

Brendan Murphy (Vocals) explains:

“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure… so here’s two more b-sides I guess? We wrote these songs when we were in the process of recording ‘Nothing Left To Love’ and for whatever reason, they just didn’t fit the vibe of the album so we decided to cut ’em. Since you guys seemed pretty stoked on the ‘Private Room’ EP, we figured why not just throw these up? At the very least, it’ll occupy like 5-10 minutes of your time… and who knows when the five of us will even be able to cross the border to be in the same room and record more music? You might love them, you might think they stink, either way it’s all good by me. They’re b-sides! Who gives a shit?”

And now time for some British heavyweights. Whilst being all alone in isolation, Bring Me The Horizon didn’t sit around. They’ve been writing and recording where the first track of those sessions, ‘Parasite Eve’ got unleashed into the world last week.

Originally intended to be released June 10th 2020, it was postponed due to the Black Lives Matter movement and protets, where they state they “don’t feel comfortable released and promoting anything that takes the focus off what’s important right now.”

Frontman Oli Sykes had the following to say on the track.

“‘Parasite Eve’ came from an idea to write a survival horror song, but as the pandemic started to develop, the parallels were so similar it felt so close to the bone we decided to shelve it. As time went on, we started to feel how relevant it was and that instead of shying from it, that we should address the dark side, embrace it and process what’s going on… ‘Parasite Eve’ is our message of hope, wrapped in sadness and anger.”

And that’s it for another week of a countdown of the best singles out in the world in the last week. Be sure to check back next-time for another round of great music videos. If you have any suggestions for me to check out, be sure to send an email or message us via the socials on Facebook or Twitter!

New Music Video Roundup 12/06/20

We’re back for another week! We have another roundup of ten music videos which have been recently released and they’re always some of my favourites! They’re not all within the same genre and they’re all different in some way or another but that means that there’s a little something for everyone here but come on, let’s get down to the music (videos)!

We’re headed to Scotland for the first video this week for Bleed From Within. They recently released their fifth record, ‘Fracture’ where they had a video for their title track ready and waiting.

The video was shot by Tom Armstrong as well as being co-directed by the band’s guitarist Craig Gowans.

On the track, the band have said:

“A departure from our typical approach, Fracture proved to be a massive challenge during the writing process. We’ve pushed ourselves as songwriters on this album and this track in particular is a perfect example of how we are evolving as a group. The lyrics are also brutally honest. I’m sure our fans will be able to relate.”

Don’t worry, this next band haven’t been out playing shows. It was shot before lockdown. Signs Of The Swarm are our next band whom shared a video off their 2019 record, ‘Vital Deprivation’. ‘Lost Within Reflection’ is the name of the track and this is what the band have said on the release:

“We are excited to bring you another video from our latest album ‘Vital Deprivation’ with ‘Lost Within Reflection’. We filmed this on the last tour we did with Shadow of Intent, watching this makes us miss you guys that much more. We can’t wait to get back out on the road and see you all again. Video shot/edited by Dylan Gould of Stay Goulden.”

Following the livestream of their concert, the up and coming duo Wargasm debuted the video for their latest single, ‘Spit’.

Shot during lockdown as a result of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, the raging twosome share:

“When we wrote ‘Spit’, it was about the disgust we felt with how people treat each other and the disgusting state of the world. Sadly it’s ringing truer day by day. In times like this art is vital. Silence is not the way we support the causes that we stand for. This is the time for change. Make a positive impact.”

Now, you can be doing so many different things while in lockdown and the giants that are Five Finger Death Punch show just what they’ve been doing where they put in place a mix of storyboards of what they wanted the video for ‘A Little Bit Off’ to look like before lockdown occurred. There’s an eerily deserted Las Vegas in the video so be warned!

Staying in the US for the next choice, we have the Delaware Harcore band on the up, Year Of The Knife. The band recently announced their debut record, ‘Internal Incarceration’ is set to be released on August 7th 2020 via Pure Noise and now they have their lead single out in the world in the form of Virtual Narcotic.

Shall we go back to Britain for this next choice in the roundup? Thought so. The emerging Liverpool band Decay have something new for us. ‘Feel Better’ is the second single off their debut record, ‘Staring At The Sun’ which will be released on July 10th via Fox Records.

Danny Resopar (vocals) writes:

“‘Feel Better’ is essentially a song about being in a slump for months and not being able to get out of it, and looking for a reason to bother trying. Until you finally find that thing or person that changes your outlook and helps you grow out of your old destructive ways. In the video we wanted to reflect and compare these two parallels.”

for those who’ve been living under a rock for a while, music wise you’ll know that Michael Bohn left Issues some time ago and there was a question to when new music from him would be released. Now, we have an answer to that. Meet, The Villa.

Bohn’s new project features Kevin Hanson (Ex- Woe Is Me) on guitar as well as Turner Wood (Ex – Nightmares) who were a part of Wildheart with Bohn as well as Michael Owens (Ex-Secrets) on Bass.

Check out the crushing video for the track ‘Turning Point’ below.

Earlier this week, Dragged Under announced that they inked a deal with Mascot Records where their first release under the banner will be a deluxe version of their debut effort, ‘The World In In Your Way’ set to be released later in 2020 where it will feature two new tracks!

For now, they have a video for ‘Chelsea’ where we see what life was like on the road when they supported The Used.

We’re into the last two picks for this weeks roundup. Second to last pick this week is the Seattle quintet Emery who’ve written a track in response to the murder of George Floyd.

All proceeds from the track will be donated to Campaign Zero.

The band have said:

“This week we were stirred to action and inspired by the global community’s response to George Floyd’s murder. We’ve often and in this case been too slow to see the perspectives of others, so in this case we have attempted to do what we can to help the cause of ending police violence. Our little team here at Emery worked together to see if we could write a song and produce the music and video to express some of the anger and confusion that we feel. We asked our favorite musical collaborator and pal Aaron Sprinkle to be involved and also sing on the track. The process was about 4 days long and this video includes footage shot and sent to us by the members of Emeryland Community and The BadChristian Club from who attended protests all around the world in order to make their voices heard and because black lives matter.”

And last week we have a clip of a dark place and a frontwoman getting up close and personal with a skull. This last pick on the roundup is New Years Day’s ‘Skeletons’.

It’s off their latest released record, ‘Unbreakable’ which is available to listen to now.

“It’s clear to me that Skeletons is a favorite along the NYD fan community since day 1. Something about this song resonates. The right mix between heavy, soft, strong and soft vocals really made it stand out on our record from the rest.

The song is about opening up and letting who you hide inside come out, so for that reason, I performed the song alone on the music video. It’s tough because it makes you vulnerable as a rock front woman to be without your band but it changed the performance into something pretty unique from our other music videos.

I hope everyone enjoys it,”

Music Video Roundup 22/02/19

Friday already? That can only mean it’s 4PM! This it’s time for the music video roundup. If you’re new to either the blog or the roundup posts, this is how it works. Every week, I view some of the best recently released music videos and compile them into a list for everyone’s viewing pleasure. They’re span across all the different genres, so expect something different for most of the tracks. First up are Australian newcomers Dealer who’ve recently signed to Stay Sick Recordings and they have a new video for the track ‘Crooked’.

 

Next, ahead of the release of their third record, O.r.k. have released a new video for ‘Black Blooms’, which also features System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian. This is off their upcoming record, ‘Ramagehead’, which is set to be released on February 22nd via Kscope Record.

 

Continuing this weeks list, with their recently released record, ‘Designed Obsolescence’ Death Metallers Continuum recently dropped their latest video for ‘A History Denied’. On the video, the band said: “We knew we wanted to do something other than your typical band performance video and Marshall Wieczorek and Michelle Nisbet did a great job at writing and directing the plot-driven video that is loosely based on the concept of our new album Designed Obsolescence. I feel like the vibe of mystery and intrigue go great with the song which has some new songwriting elements we’ve never used in Continuum before. Hopefully, you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed shooting it.”

Continuing on with the heavy theme, which is becoming more and more apparent for this week’s videos is Lakeshore who have a new video in the form of Sorry which is taken from their second EP, ‘Secret Weapons’, released a few months ago.

 

We’re heading down to Essex for our number five pick of the week and steering into the Alternative Rock genre now is Sun Arcana. The band have a new track in the form of ‘Let Me Down (ventilate) which acts as the follow up to 2018’s ‘As I Take A Breath…’ and Acoustic Sessions EP.

 

And moving across the pond to Delaware for Hardcore band Year Of The Knife, they have a video which was first released on Pure Noise Records for ‘Fatal’. It’s the first release for the band on Pure Noise which is a compilation of their Ultimat Disease and First State Aggression EPs.

 

And we’re going a bit softer for our next pick of the week with one track from Weezer’s cover record. It’s the video for their cover of ‘Take On Me’ which also stars Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard in a full 80s outfit with massive hair which pays homage to the original video.

 

Going for more a Pop-Punk vibe next but not more acoustic for this selection. This is With Confidence doing the opposite of the norm these days and reimagining their track for ‘Without Me’ as a fully loud and produced version, which is something you could possibly crowd surf to as well.

 

For the penultimate pick, we’re going back to the heavy vibe of the week. Our Hollow, Our Home fans have made the track ‘Wraiths’ a fan favourite since their latest record was released in October and the band have listened to fans, giving the track a huge music video. Speaking about the track in question, Vocalist Tobias Young shared that:

“This is my favourite track on the record. Its written from the perspective of someone who suffers with IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder – anger management) and how living with it effects your thought process. Easily one of the most difficult songs to play musically, but also the most fun to record, and I hope it will go down well live! I think it does a good job of tying up any loose ends from “// anger” as it has a positive spin towards the end.”

 

And now, for the last track of the week. I sometimes choose my favourite based on the band. Sometimes the video itself but this is a combination of the artist, the video and the cinematography. This was filmed while our on their tour of Asia and their newest record, ‘So What’ is set to be released on March 1st. Ladies and gentlemen, for the last music video of the week, I give you While She Sleeps track, ‘The Guilty Party’.

And that’s it for another week of music video roundups. Be sure to check back next week for another ten of the best right here at Almost Anything Media.