Photo by Greg Goudey
West Coast death metal trailblazers RIPPED TO SHREDS today share “Violent Compulsion For Conquest,” the third single and opening track from their forthcoming new full-length, 劇變 (Jubian)!
Frontman Andrew Lee comments, “‘Violent Compulsion’ is easily one of our favorites off this record with the sickest double bass Brian’s ever laid down on record. Dave Suzuki was also kind enough to lay down a guest solo, and we’re all huge Vital Remains fans. I had Dechristianize on repeat all throughout high school!”
Watch the new video featuring live RIPPED TO SHREDS footage and a guest guitar solo from Dave Suzuki (ex-Vital Remains, Churchburn) at THIS LOCATION.
Stream RIPPED TO SHREDS’ “漢奸 (Race Traitor)” at THIS LOCATION and view the band’s previously released video for “Reek Of Burning Freedom” (directed by Kevin Burleigh) HERE.
劇變 (Jubian) is out next week on Friday, October 14th. Find physical preorders on CD, LP, and cassette are available via Relapse.com HERE. Find digital downloads/streaming options HERE.
In related news, RIPPED TO SHREDS’ official 劇變 (Jubian) album release show is later this month on October 22nd in Santa Cruz, California with additional shows to be announced in the coming weeks.
RIPPED TO SHREDS:
10/22/2022 Santa Cruz County Veterans Hall – Santa Cruz, CA 劇變 (Jubian) Release Show
Led by guitarist/vocalist Andrew Lee, RIPPED TO SHREDS emerges from the underground with their most fully realized and visceral work yet. Recorded and mixed by Lee in his home studio and mastered by Damian Herring at Subterranean Watchtower, 劇變 (Jubian) is RIPPED TO SHREDS at their most focused and refined.
劇變 (Jubian) bursts wide open with “Violent Compulsion For Conquest,” an elegantly dark, new kind of chainsaw sound teeming with acidic vocals gnashing out lyrics inspired by the Mukden Incident. From its lightning-flash solos to those immensely killer echoing “Ough!”s, this absolute scather, according to Lee, was born to lead. Elsewhere, longtime RIPPED TO SHREDS fans will find the latest chapter of the ongoing “Sun Moon Holy Cult” saga to be its most thrilling episode thus far. One of the album’s most impressive and catchiest tracks, “漢奸 (Race Traitor),” represents that “straight-up melodeath” banger Lee says he’s always wanted to produce while also giving vent to his experience as a minority in America. The charring “Reek Of Burning Freedom,” Lee notes, is “an anti-war song” that incites to remind its discerning listers of the United States’ “indiscriminate bombing” campaign waged on North Korea during the Korean War. Chainsaw guitars, relentless drumming, dizzying solos, and disgusting growling throughout, 劇變 (Jubian) is undeniably ripping death metal.
All of the intensity of power coursing through 劇變 (Jubian) is somehow perfectly captured and rendered by Chinese artist Guang Yang, who also painted the cover of the last RIPPED TO SHREDS album. The statue on the cover is Mazu, the Taiwanese sea goddess. The setting of the painting was inspired by several of the local temples Lee has visited in Taiwan. “I felt like it was important to have something standing in for Chinese people,” Lee says. “The cultural context and impact of RIPPED TO SHREDS as a Taiwanese-American band cannot be understated; Lee declares that a driving force behind RIPPED TO SHREDS has been “to increase the visibility of ABCs [American-born Chinese] in extreme metal by being very blatantly Chinese.”
It’s not about taking over. With 劇變 (Jubian), which translates to “upheaval,” RIPPED TO SHREDS makes their intentions clear.
“Chock full of scathing vocals, chainsaw guitars, and a brand-new chapter of the ongoing ‘Sun Moon Holy Cult’ saga, 劇變 (Jubian) showcases RIPPED TO SHREDS’ signature brutal-yet-melodic style at full chisel.” – Decibel Magazine
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