“Panopticon Blues,” a song about social media’s effects on humanity, appears on the Brooklyn band’s sophomore album, The Future of Death, coming April 15th via Party Smasher Inc, the multi-faceted company founded by THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN guitarist Ben Weinman.
Photo by Nikki Sneakers
Stereogum’s Doug Moore nails it with these words: “Primitive Weapons’ most obvious influences date to the 1990s… ‘metalcore’ (the heaving, dissonant, Deadguy-ish kind) and ‘post-hardcore’ (the atmospheric, melodic, tri-state kind). Primitive Weapons guitarist and clean vocalist Arty Shepherd was among the latter subgenre’s prime movers as a member of Mind Over Matter, whose brief run inspired many of the subgenre’s best-known names, such as Thursday and Glassjaw. That lineage predominates on The Future of Death, making it something of a full-circle moment for Shepherd. You can hear it clearly in the somber intro and addictive hook from ‘Panopticon Blues,’ but the band still wields a metalcore stick to balance the post-hardcore carrot.”
Primitive Weapons’ futuristic upgrade of the ’90s vibes Moore refers to results in a massively powerful mix of tribal thunder, hard grooves, dire screams, luminous guitars, and massive, mournful choruses that haunt for days.
In Primitive Weapons, Shepherd is flanked by drummer Chris Enriquez, bassist Eric Odness, and David Castillo, also of White Widows Pact. Shepherd and Castillo are co-owners of Saint Vitus Bar, one of Brooklyn’s most beloved live music venues.
The Future of Death was recorded and mixed by Dean Baltulonis (Madball, Modern Life Is War) at The Wild Arctic, and mastered by Dave Gardner (Black Lips, Rocket from the Crypt) at Magneto Mastering.
“Strobe-light-incarnate post-hardcore… The New York band is adept at mixing metallic violence with eerie, melodic sweetness.”
–NPR Music
