07/05/2024
DO NOT. I repeat. DO NOT MISS THIS S**T. members of destroyer destroyer and plagues. For Fans of: Everything that f**king rules.
It’s that time again! I’m back with another brand new album and this one is unlike anything I’ve done up to this point. I’ve been trying to capture a new release across all of my favorite genres, and it’s finally time for the grind! This one has been secretly percolating behind the scenes here for years, and I’m so pleased to get to showcase the brand new project from the craziest pair of WV alumni maybe ever. This whole release is just drenched in WV powerhouses and honestly its so good that this should be like, debuting on Deathwish or something, haha. This punches so far above its weight it isn’t even funny and it actually makes me uncomfortable with having to represent something this good! The next WV new release is Hereisaropegoodluck!
My favorite part of WV is using the platform to exalt the new bands of previous WV alumni, and this release is kind of the ultimate example of that. I’m going to try not to be too big of a meat rider on this, but it’s literally impossible when you’ve got the brand new project from some of your favorite musicians ever. You might know Michael Carroll from, uh, literally Destroyer Destroyer and if that doesn’t get you torqued I don’t know what will. It’s a two man power duo and in addition to Carroll holding down the instrumentation, you’ve got Brian Cole (of Debello band Plagues fame) bringing it up on vocals.
I’ll kind of start with he genre and tonal notes here before jumping in too deep on the members, history and context. I’ll try not to make this 15 paragraphs long but I have so much to say! At its core, this is a tech grind album, but its so much more. Old school composition and charm with the craziest in *current year* production standards. It’s truly an insane fusion of cultures. Its kind of like, Cult Leader if the songs were a minute long and all of the coldwave parts were like, feedback and soundscapes. It’s so vocal and drum forward, with this kind of ethereal shroud over the whole thing. You kind of zone in and out and every time you catch a little break, you realize you haven’t heard song composition and riffs like this since like, 2010. It’s got this noodle-sliding guitar work over this whole album that just sticks out in 2024 like crazy.
I know we take all the early WV titles for granted at this point, its so easy to forget what trailblazers DD, Robinson and those early Debello bands were. There’s a difference between playing guitar, having riffs and like, being Michael Carroll. It sounds so completely foreign in 2024 - its got this kind of slide/twang feel that feels totally original in 2024. Like we get so much Musi made baby people who have been so visibly influence by DD and the like, that it just feels insane to hear it from the man himself. Not that I want to keep comparing it to DD, but like, if you’re a guitar guy you know it was just *different* back then. Song structures have changed over the years, people just don’t write stuff that plays like this album anymore.
Its really hard to make a grind album this cohesive. Its so well intentioned and structured and really plays so deliberately. Every time you get thrown under the wildest blast you’ve ever heard, you get a little soundscape break. You start to feel relaxed, and then BOOM right back in to the most frantic guitar riffs you’ve ever heard. It has a little bit of a jangly quality at times, and even a few bass drops and breakdowns, haha. Such a dynamic album. I think it really showcases what an incredible instrumentalist that Michael is and that Destroyer Destroyer wasn’t a one-off, haha.
And I know I’ve been hammering the Carroll thing, but got damn does Brian bring an insanely dynamic vocal performance to this album as well. It would be so easy to just fry it out on this, but he shows a lot of ingenuity and restraint - he lets the music breathe when he needs to, and its littered with vocals styles without just being a weirdo vocal olympic thing. Just two dudes working in perfect harmony here!
As far as band members go, it almost feels like the third member is just Digital Ghost. I can’t really talk about the composition on this album without bringing up Digital Ghost (formerly Swamp Sound) who did the whole album. Michael and Brian flew out and recorded this whole thing in house, and the DG influence is more than apparent. It ha those signature drums and the production elevates this to such an insane level. Its such a treat to hear something with such old-school charm with this level of production. Immediately feels so big budget and modern, haha.
I wanted to bring a level of grandiosity to this, and I’m such a sucker for like, not metal artwork with a big metal logo. I was so fortunate to be able to get not one, not two, but FOUR giant paintings from Michal Lukasiewicz to use for this record. Just an insane amount of art packed in to this released and I can’t wait for you to get these in hand and explore all the detail! On top of that, Kai was Abel to draw up an insane logo, and put this whole thing together in such a compelling way. Honestly one of my favorite layouts and art presentations maybe ever. Obsessed with this.
It’s been such an honor and a privilege to get to work with Michael and Brian on this over the past few years. It’s been flights to the studio, countless group chats, drafts and drafts and drafts. They’ve put so much effort in to creating a modern classic and everyone involved has put so much care in to the final presentation. I know you’re going to love it! NO ONE is making grind like this in 2024!
Preorders go live July 12th at 1:00pm CST. They will be open for two weeks! This will also have a open PVC preorder. And as a fun treat, the /100 handmade will be the band variant - they’ll be bringing them out to shows! Stay tuned for that - HIARGL is a live band so catch them soon playing some shows!
This one-time pressing is limited to 300+ copies across 5 variants:
50 We've Howdied, but Haven't Sigged (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 A Dead Sig Can Still Bite (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Sigs Get Fat, Hogs Get Slaughtered (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Eating Sigs by the Spoonful (Wax Vessel Signature)
100 Not Worth Spit (Wax Vessel Handmade)
100 Band Live Show Variant
Open Preorder 180g Natural PVC
All of this housed in:
1.5x thickness Matte single pocket jackets
Double sided matte full color insert
Black polylined innersleeves
Gold foil numbering
Stuffed into polybags
Hype Sticker’d
Custom WV Mailers
Matching WV Album art sticker
Honestly, I think there is a big potential that this could end up ebbing a lot of people’s AOTY. If you’re an OG WV fan, this is the new release for you. If you’re a deathcore guy, I think the production is an easy “in” to get in to a grind album like this. Its grind and so so much more. Please tell a friend! Share a post! Buy a copy! Thanks again!
Preorders go be on July 12th at 1:00pm CSt. See you there!
