Auckland’s post-hardcore trio BURDENZ doesn’t mince words, and they sure don’t hold back on their self-titled debut album, released November 15. Following their explosive early singles like Pills and Cultz, this record comes strong with its raw energy and introspection, making them sound like a storm—a calculated chaos and bruising weight shaped by years in the trenches of their local music scene.
Jimmy Coldham (vocals, guitar), Alex Ross-Smith (bass, backing vocals), and Al Gallagher (drums) bring serious cred to the table, having played in bands like COFFIN CLUB, JANG, and NUGGIEZ.
Back in September, we introduced BURDENZ as an act to watch, highlighting their resistance to toxic behaviors in underground music communities, their genre-bending tendencies, and even their quirky side hustle—a charcoal soap crafted by Jimmy’s pharmacologist partner, Victoria. But this time, we hear and get a lot lot more.
The album digs deep into personal and societal pain, from chronic illness and toxic environments to ego trips and systemic injustice. Each track is its own commentary, drawn from lived experiences and acute observations.
Musically, BURDENZ continues to toy with the boundaries of post-hardcore, incorporating elements of thrash, psych, and even improvisational chaos. Tracks like Get Around It and Ego Death emerged from jam sessions, later stitched together into songs that feel spontaneous yet still cohesive.
The band brought in guest vocals from Lana Wolf (HAGSEED) on Fibromyalgia and experiment with layers of sound throughout the album. On Luck Out, Alex’s saxophone adds an unsettling depth, dissolving into eerie textures that perfectly match the song’s existential questions.
Dive into the band’s special track-by-track commentary for a deeper look at how these songs came to life and the stories behind them.
FIBROMYALGIA
This song was written about a year ago and took various forms structurally.
It started out from one single riff and then we kept expanding on it from there, incorporating different sections. We labored over this track quite a fair bit and took a bit of time to finally get it to a point where we were happy with it.
There is a bridge section we jokingly called the “Wizard metal” section because it reminded us of the goofier side of metal music, but there is also a lot of influence from bands like Mastodon in there. Definitely a song that involved a lot of fun jams but quite intense sessions trying to bring it all together.
Lyrically the song took influence from my partner who suffers from Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. Hearing her experiences as well as learning more about the condition and how there aren’t enough studies on it, along with hearing about how patients aren’t often taken seriously by doctors prompted me to write about her experiences. While we can never fully know what it’s like to be afflicted by the condition, we hoped to bring to light the struggles those who have it typically face.
My partner had an idea for a vocal section for the bridge after seeing us play it live.
She suggested a series of chanted lyrics which we incorporated and were lucky to have sung by guest vocals Lana Wolf of the band Hagseed (a fellow Tāmaki/Auckland based band).
PILLS
This song came out of a bassline that our bass player Alex brought into a practice session one day.
It was quite fun to exchange riffs back and forth on this one as I came up with a second riff for the chorus and we both worked out a closing section for the bridge. It came together fairly quickly and We both wrote the lyrics together which made that process very collaborative.
Lyrically the song is about social pressures and negative influences that can exist within music scenes.
Shady characters who can integrate themselves into a social environment and push drugs onto others. Negative behavior and other detrimental issues that can cause people to feel more reluctant to go out to shows was something we wanted to cover in this song. The negative memories than can get in the way of us fully enjoying the things we used to and how we can seek to overcome them.
EGO DEATH
This was our attempt to write a “thrash” song. It eventually turned into something very different and unique. I often called this one a “homework” song as it came out of me sitting at home and writing and piecing parts together to “present” to the other two at practice. There was a lot of “studying” up on thrash music from the 80s and 90s especially. It’s safe to say an attempt was made and once we played it together as a group in it’s final form, it became a lot of fun.
GET AROUND IT
This was one of the first songs we wrote that came from a method of us jamming as a group and then me being the nerd who would take those recordings and try to structure a song from it.
There were many different riffs and parts that came from jamming as a band that we Frankenstein-ed into this one. It did pose a bit of a challenge as we found ourselves literally reading off pads of paper trying to put it together. Once we got over that hurdle, I think we all felt very happy with the result. Frenetic energy and chaos pulled into a shape. Always on the brink of falling apart.
HEAD & SHOULDERS
This is one of the first songs we ever wrote and the earliest written track on the album.
It was written during our earlier time as a new band, with songs often coming out of jamming and improvising.
The lyrics are quite fluid, referring to someone who cannot be toppled, unphased by those that get in their way or seek to bring them down. It’s a bit of an ode to those who stand by their principles and remain uncorrupted.
CAUSTIC
“Caustic” came together quite naturally with us building on it as a unit. I think we had over-loaded ourselves a bit, having labored a fair bit over other songs that we did have difficulty with how we should close it out. Having come up with various ideas we finally reached something we all dug and got it to a place where we felt if we tinkered with it any further, we would have ruined it.
The experience we had writing the song reflected itself a fair bit in the lyrics as well. I found myself writing it loosely about someone who kept changing and adjusting both their daily rituals but also themselves. Lines in the song including “processes realigned”, “muscle memory”, losing sight of who you were and reaping what you sow as a result. Developing a caustic, toxic environment for oneself to the point where even looking at themselves in a mirror becomes a stain. With all that being said, interpretation from the listener is always welcomed of course!
CULTZ
This song was very much also influenced by different creative scenes and the strong personalities that can be present. Someone who seeks to gate keep and have control over others is portrayed as a kind of cult leader. Toxic masculinity, manipulation, ego, and a desire for control are always present in different industries and social circles.
The delusional figure of the “Hardcore Jesus” in a heavy music scene that sees themselves as above those around them. The viewpoint here is cynical but is a continuing problem in all phases of life. As we see cults of personality grow, we must always be wary of those we put our faith in and be willing to question things constantly.
LUCKED OUT
It’s safe to say we put a lot of time into this one. We butted heads over it at times but I’m very proud of how we pushed each other to our limits on this one. What started off as just one riff became one of our longest songs. When we recorded it with our good friend “Uncle” Marty Phillips we had an idea to put a “horned instrument” of some kind in certain sections.
That eventually became Alex’s saxophone, which Marty played with sonically, having it dissolve and waver over the bridge. We tracked various guitar effects over the top of the bridge, experimenting a fair bit. This was always our closing song at shows and was 100% what we wanted to end the album with.
The song lyrically covers the notion of being born into a situation one has no control over, nor chose. Yet is forced to deal with the environment they are in regardless. The injustices that are ever present in today’s world. Widespread corruption, indifference and suffering that never seems to end. We always must ask ourselves is life really just a game of luck. As the world continues to ignore the struggles of others, one must ask themselves what luck they must have to be willfully ignorant and compliant with these atrocities.
