(written by Islander)
Allow me to repeat what I wrote about “Gas Mask,” the first single off Drugs of Faith‘s new album Asymmetrical (not that you have a choice): “It skitters and slashes, bounces and brawls, vents the words in a red-eyed fury, and eventually takes off from its punk launching pad into an eruption of grindcore mayhem.”
In other words, after a nearly 6-year hiatus following their last EP and nearly 14 years beyond their last studio album, Drugs of Faith have gotten up off the mat and come out swinging — hard. They have the same lineup that produced that EP (Decay) — guitarist/vocalist Richard Johnson (Enemy Soil, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), bassist Ivan Khilko (Immanent Voiceless), and drummer Ethan Griffiths (Embra) — and their chemistry still produces a volatile concoction of sounds.
Here’s a preview of the album offered on behalf of the labels that will release it on February 21st (Selfmadegod Records and Malokul):
photo by Ivan Khilko
Asymmetrical packs ten tracks into twenty-one minutes, some of which date back to before the pandemic and others that were written and demoed during the lockdowns and since. Asymmetrical was chosen as the title since the record doesn’t follow a solitary mission statement or lyrical theme; rather, it encapsulates a variety of different directions and themes
Like the Corroded LP, Asymmetrical contains a noise track, an instrumental, and a cover song, yet the new songs and the production are quite varied from Corroded. The lyrics to “Desert War Eternal” were written by J.R. Hayes (Pig Destroyer, Enemy Soil). “Drones” contains ideas from an unreleased Enemy Soil song that were resurrected and put through the DRUGS OF FAITH filter. The song “Essential” is a cover of a defunct European band called DrDoom (pre-Teethgrinder), who DRUGS OF FAITH played shows with while touring Europe years ago.
Not specifically mentioned in that preview is “Microchips,” the song we’re premiering today through a lyric video, but we do have these comments about it from Richard Johnson:
“Like ‘Gas Mask,’ the first song released from the new album, ‘Microchip‘ has different tempos and some crunch to it. We like to get inspiration from different bands we love, and a little secret about ‘Microchip’ is that it has a moment in it inspired by Autopsy.”
“Lyrically, ‘Microchip’ has a couple different themes in it, one of them presented sarcastically, but I guess the overall message can be summed up as: be wary about things you read online that are designed to make you angry.”
Good advice, but difficult to follow in my case because every fucking thing I read online makes me angry, unless it comes with cat photos. (Dogs, birds, and orthopedic shoes are okay too.) “Microchip” makes a damned good case that ravaging, raucous, and angry music is better for us than the greedy rage-fuel provided by endless scrolling.
The words, delivered in raw and furious yells, pack a “wake the fuck up” punch and so does the music. The bass sounds like an enormous cement mixer heard up-close. The clanging, quivering, and jolting chords are both grim and brazen. The drums rumble and bounce like bricks in an industrial dryer.
Fury and fever build within the music until it begins to slash and jump with a feral punk venom, and then accelerates even more, with acetylene-strength guitars wildly writhing, drums blasting away, and the vocals venting disgusted snarls. And for good measure, the song delivers a final jackhammering for your skull.
A bruiser, a brawler, a napalm-sprayer, and a mosh-pit trigger, “Microchip” is an angry catharsis for every commercialized manipulation in daily life that tries to take our eyes off the ball, to divert us and reduce us to manure for someone else’s money tree.
Oh, and in case you missed it, here’s “Gas Mask“:
Asymmetrical was recorded at Developing Nations by Kevin Bernsten (Integrity, Full Of Hell, Magrudergrind), who noted during tracking that the record sounds like, “a deranged rock album.”
As noted, Asymmetrical will be released on February 21st. You can find preorders for the CD and other merch at the Selfmadegod Records webshop HERE, preorders for the 12” grey vinyl limited to 100 copies on Malokul HERE, and digital preorders at Bandcamp HERE.
For folks within striking distance of Washington, DC, Drugs of Faith have announced a live show on February 28th with Witch’s Mirror and Stygian Mind at Rhizome. Tickets are available here.
DRUGS OF FAITH:
https://www.drugsoffaith.com
https://drugsoffaith.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/drugsoffaith
https://www.instagram.com/drugsoffaith
SELFMADEGOD:
https://www.selfmadegod.com
https://www.selfmadegod-store.com
https://www.selfmadegod.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/selfmadegod
https://www.instagram.com/selfmadegod_records
MALOKUL:
https://malokul.bandcamp.com
https://malokul.bigcartel.com
https://www.instagram.com/malokul202