photos by Jacob Murry
Little Rock, Arkansas-based metallic hardcore quintet TERMINAL NATION today unveils the second single from their impending second album Echoes Of The Devil’s Den, nearing release May 3rd on 20 Buck Spin. The new song, “Merchants Of Bloodshed,” features guest vocals from Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage.
Since releasing the first TERMINAL NATION album Holocene Extinction in 2020, the USA’s simmering divisions have only widened, factions hardened, compromise disintegrated. The band’s incendiary new album Echoes Of The Devil’s Den epitomizes that boiling rage, once again appearing on the eve of a recurring nightmare election cycle of fossilized 20th century relics.
Echoes Of The Devil’s Den was produced, engineered, and mixed by Ryan Bram at Homewrecker Recording Studio in Tucson, Arizona (Gatecreeper, Creeping Death, Spirit Adrift), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audioseige (Obituary, Integrity, Xibalba), and completed with photography by Jacob Murry and cover artwork by Adam Burke (Eternal Champion, Acephalix, Creeping Death). The album features guest vocals from Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), Dwid Hellion (Integrity), Todd Jones (Nails), K. Kennedy (Sex Prisoner), and Zak Vargas (Elysia), and additional percussion by Juan Cebreros.
With the new single, vocalist Stan Liszewski states, “‘Merchants Of Bloodshed’ is very much a sign of the times that we are living in now. It’s a song about the business and profitability of war. Either through proxy wars, through being the largest arms dealer in the entire world, or whatever non-defensive foreign intervention that the US can find itself meddling in, as the song states, the international face of death is a grim reaper cloaked in an American flag. While innocent people dying is never good, profiting from it is simply incomprehensible.
“A few years ago, Jesse Leach sent us a message telling us that he was a fan of the band, which was wild to wrap our heads around, as Killswitch Engage is a band that helped introduce some of us to heavier music. While writing the album, we knew this song was special. Lyrically, it’s some of my best work, and structurally, it is very verse/chorus/bridge style, which is rare for us, and it ends in a grandiose ballad-like ending. While, outside of our comfort zone, it fits the lyrics, and I felt that it really needed a quality singer. Knowing Jesse was into our music, we approached him, and he was into the song and my lyrics. He recorded his lyrics, bouncing off mine, and I couldn’t have imagined it coming out better. This song is still very much TERMINAL NATION, but it’s a little bit of a different flavor than many are used to.”
TERMINAL NATION’s “Merchants Of Bloodshed,” featuring Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, is now streaming at YouTube HERE and Bandcamp HERE.
A must-hear album for followers of All Out War, Bolt Thrower, Earth Crisis, Maul, Xibalba, Kruelty, Fuming Mouth, and Gatecreeper, 20 Buck Spin will release Echoes Of The Devil’s Den May 3rd on LP, CD, MC, and digital formats. Find preorders for all versions at the label webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE, and watch the video for “Written By The Victor” featuring Nails’ Todd Jones HERE.
The release date for Echoes Of The Devil’s Den will mark the ten-year anniversary of TERMINAL NATION’s first show, and the band is booking festival and tour dates to support the album. The band will play a show in Brooklyn on April 12th on their way to play the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Philadelphia April 13th, joining Biohazard, Deicide, Dying Fetus, Jesus Piece, Crowbar, Tomb Mold, Will Haven, and more. April 14th, they’ll play Worcester with Cruel Hand, Risk, Fool’s Game, and more at a benefit for The Whole Puzzle Company (Autism Awareness And Advocacy). See the confirmed dates below and watch for steady updates to post over the months ahead.
TERMINAL NATION Live:
4/12/2024 Gold Sounds – Brooklyn, NY w/ Enforced
4/13/2024 Decibel Metal & Beer Fest @ The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA [tickets]
4/14/2024 The Whole Puzzle Company benefit @ PNI Club – Worcester, MA w/ Cruel Hand, Risk, Fool’s Game
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