Revolver Magazine is now streaming Undercurrent, the pulverizing new album by Japan’s brutalizing hardcore/sludge outfit FRIENDSHIP. Following its CD release through Daymare Recordings earlier in the year, the vinyl version of the merciless new album sees a vinyl release through Southern Lord this Friday.
FRIENDSHIP offers vile, antagonistic, and visionary blackened tones focused on delivering maximum auditory torture. Delivering the blasting directives of Full Of Hell, Nails, and Infest, backed with the oppressive tonal amplification of Sleep, Coffins, or Iron Monkey, the band is now revered as one of the heaviest modern acts in Japan. Their second LP, Undercurrent showcases the band’s hybrid of ultra-heavy doom sludge/powerviolence as audible torture. With a more technical and precise attack, and a brighter and sharper tone than the preceding Hatred LP, all tracking, mixing, and mastering duties for Undercurrent were handled in Tokyo throughout 2018. The resulting album strikes hard with ten relentless tracks delivered in just over twenty-two minutes.
With their advance stream of Undercurrent, Revolver Magazine offers in part, “In an age when nothing’s shocking, FRIENDSHIP have managed to come off as utterly extreme and terrifyingly vile. With an amalgam of grind, hardcore and death-metal influences, the Japanese crew’s sound is nothing short of hatred incarnate – bringing to mind bands like middle-period Converge, Full Of Hell, Insect Warfare, Nails, Crossed Out, and others as primary jumping-off points.”
Stream from FRIENDSHIP’s Undercurrent via Revolver at THIS LOCATION.
FRIENDSHIP‘s Undercurrent sees vinyl release through Southern Lord this Friday, June 14th. Place orders at Bandcamp HERE, at the Southern Lord US webshop HERE, and at the Euro webshop HERE.
Following their 2014 formation in the Tokyo area, FRIENDSHIP quickly issued their debut demo cassette, and quickly became known for their monolithic live volume levels and became notorious for releasing over a hundred shirt designs. The band also shortly thereafter self-released two CD EPs which both sold out in under a month (recently reissued as I and II on vinyl and cassette via Sentient Ruin). The band signed with Daymare Records in 2016 for the release of their debut full-length, Hatred. Recorded in Tokyo, Hatred was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege and released on CD and digital versions via Daymare in June 2017. The vinyl version and international digital edition followed through Southern Lord in November 2017, and a cassette version was released by Sentient Ruin.
Over these recent years, FRIENDSHIP has shared stages with Full Of Hell, Sumac, Primitive Man, Endon, Palm, and many others, including supporting the mighty Sleep in Tokyo, as a part of Leave Them All Behind 2018. In September 2018, the band performed at Bloodshed Festival, as well as seven shows across the UK. Immediately following the tour, FRIENDSHIP began the construction of their follow-up album, which now rears its bestial head as Undercurrent.
Watch for FRIENDSHIP tour dates and more to be posted over the months ahead.
http://southernlord.bandcamp.com