photos by Michael Hallahan
“…dystopian ride through sonic chaos.” – Nine Circles
“TranscendX” is the new single from Bangor, Maine-based MANIC ABRAXAS. Now playing exclusively at Nine Circles, the track is the latest warning shot fired before the band’s fourth album, Skinformation, is unloaded upon the masses August 2nd.
From the wooded realms of Northern Maine, MANIC ABRAXAS unites drummer Tom Bennett, bassist/vocalist/synth player Justin Hamm, and guitarist/vocalist/synth player Dallas Seger), collectively unleashing a maelstrom of sound that defies boundaries and pushes the limits of auditory sanity.
The follow-up to their Foreign Winds album, MANIC ABRAXAS’ future-forward Skinformation is a dystopian sonic manifesto that delves into the dark underbelly of a bleak cyberpunk hive world. In this unforgiving landscape, data-huffers, faceless assassins, and techno-sexual freaks roam free, where information is the ultimate currency. Biomesh-enhanced collectors wipe their victims clean with a mere touch, but what happens when one becomes sentient and questions its purpose and the cost of this Skinformation?
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by the legendary Steve Austin of Today Is The Day at his Austin Enterprise, MANIC Skinformation features a guest appearance from William Maybeline (Qual, Lebanon Hanover) and mind-altering art by Gage Lindsten. Fans of High On Fire, Voivod, Taipan, Doomriders, Corrosion Of Conformity, Clutch, Diesto, Celtic Frost, Venom, and Okkultokrati should not miss MANIC ABRAXAS’ unhinged, unapologetic, and unrelenting, sound.
With the new single, Dallas Seger reveals, “Descend into the void, where reality fractures and the simulation accelerates. Our new single, ‘TranscendX,’ is a high-velocity dive into the abyss, fueled by chaotic D-beat punk and melodic dissonance. Imagine a reality blur where you can’t tell if you’re in a simulation or not; a sinking vague feeling that another life or reality exists just out of your grasp.”
Nine Circles writes of Skinformation’s impending release, “It’s going to be awesome – a dystopian ride through sonic chaos. If you’re familiar (and you should be by now), you’d know just how dark and frenetic their fusion of punk and doom is…” The site writes of the “TranscendX” single, “The juxtaposition of the deliberate (and deliciously harsh) rhythmic march alongside those varied leads that seem to continuously grow and elevate as these five minutes ride on really stands out to me. The vocals? Jarring in a way that is somehow both exceptional… and appropriate at the same time.”
Stream MANIC ABRAXAS’ “TranscendX” first courtesy of Nine Circles RIGHT HERE.
Skinformation will be independently released on CD and digital platforms on August 2nd. Find preorders at Bandcamp where the tracks “Manic Abraxas” and “Skinformation” are playing HERE.
MANIC ABRAXAS, forged in 2012, is a sonic trinity of friends bound by their obsession with the darker realms of punk and metal. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Celtic Frost, early High On Fire, and Unearthly Trance, they’ve conjured a sound that shatters boundaries. Their music careens from frenetic to funeral-paced, shrouded in a moody, aggressive atmosphere that’s both hypnotic and unyielding.
Through 2015’s Manic Abraxas, 2020’s Speed Golem, and 2022’s Foreign Winds, and now the upcoming Skinformation full-length, MANIC ABRAXAS has employed heavy D.I.Y. promotion and regional performances supporting the likes of The Obsessed, Today Is The Day, Pilgrim, Heavy Temple, Shabti, Zud, Hessian, and more, earning them a solid fanbase, and earning the title of “Maine’s Best Metal Band” by Bangor Daily News.
Additionally, MANIC ABRAXAS’ Dallas Seger is a renowned luthier who owns and operates his own Seger Guitars, a dedicated shop specializing in custom handmade electric guitars inspired by vintage golden age electrics using traditional techniques. These guitars are the pinnacle of tone and feel. In addition to MANIC ABRAXAS exclusively playing Seger Guitars, some of the artists who are known to regularly play these axes include Matt Pike (High On Fire, Sleep), Dallas Green (Alexisonfire), Tim Sult (Clutch, Lionize), Tim Lehi (Draugar, ex-Twilight), and others. See more at the official website HERE.
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