“Panopticon Blues,” a song about social media’s effects on humanity, appears on the Brooklyn band’s sophomore album,Β The Future of Death,Β comingΒ April 15thΒ viaΒ Party Smasher Inc,Β the multi-faceted company founded by THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLANΒ 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 onΒ The Future of Death,Β 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,Β dire screams,Β luminous guitars, and massive, mournful choruses that haunt for days.
In Primitive Weapons, Shepherd is flanked byΒ drummerΒ Chris Enriquez,Β bassistΒ Eric Odness,Β andΒ David Castillo,Β also ofΒ 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 DeathΒ was recorded and mixed byΒ Dean BaltulonisΒ (Madball, Modern Life Is War)Β atΒ The Wild Arctic,Β andΒ mastered byΒ Dave GardnerΒ (Black Lips, Rocket from the Crypt)Β atΒ Magneto Mastering.
“Strobe-light-incarnate post-hardcore… The New York band is adept at mixing metallic violence with eerie, melodic sweetness.”
βNPR Music
