“…technical madness…” – Metal Injection
Metal Injection is currently streaming “180-Degree Murder” from transatlantic extreme/progressive tech metal duo WESTON SUPER MAIM. The crushing track comes by way of the band’s debut EP of the same name, set to drop July 16th via Dark Trail Records.
WESTON SUPER MAIM has been lurking in the shadows as a one-man recording project spearheaded by UK musician Tom Stevens (All Of Space, Brown Stratos) for some time, however 180-Degree Murder marks a new level of intent, with US-based Seth Detrick of Los Angeles thrash outfit PDP uniting with Stevens to handle vocal duties. Drawing inspiration from the abstracted time signatures of Meshuggah, the groove and dissonance of Will Haven, and the riffs-above-all-else approach of Crowbar, as well as the boundary-pushing musicianship of bands like Car Bomb and Humanity’s Last Breath, the EP is a devastatingly heavy, surprisingly melodic journey through the extreme metal landscape.
Comments Stevens of the track, “We’ve had this track up our sleeves for a little while now so it’s amazing to finally get it out there. The music was actually written in 2019, but it wasn’t until Seth came on board to do vocals last year that it became the monster that it is now. We both love complex music but also just pure all-out heaviness, so this track is really nothing more than us writing the music we want to hear. The EP is essentially a single long song, and this track is the first section.
“Musically, it’s all about the riffs. There are some odd time signatures and shifting tempos, but it’s more about weird groove and different angles to create the heaviest thing possible. There’s an overarching lyrical concept for the EP, and this section is about the idea of absorbing all the ugliness of humanity and using it to destroy the world. Every stage of the writing and recording process was about pushing things as far as we could, one way or another, and we’re extremely proud of the end result.”
Stream WESTON SUPER MAIM’s “180-Degree Murder,” now playing at Metal Injection, at THIS LOCATION.
180-Degree Murder will be released on CD, vinyl, and digitally on all streaming platforms. For digital preorders, visit the WESTON SUPER MAIM Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION. For CD and vinyl preorders, visit the Dark Trail Bandcamp page HERE. Find the Spotify pre-save link HERE.
Written as a single track, 180-Degree Murder traverses caveman heaviness, tech-driven grooves, and shifting melodic patterns to create an immersive experience that rewards multiple listens. The writing process for the EP began in 2019. By the time the pandemic hit, an early instrumental draft had already been recorded, but it wasn’t until Detrick joined the project in June 2020 that things really began to take shape. Making use of extra time at home in London during the first UK lockdown, Stevens retracked instruments for the EP at his home studio while Detrick developed lyrical ideas and vocal patterns from his home in Eugene, Oregon. Vocal tracking was completed in early 2021, and the mix not long thereafter.
Thematically, the EP is on one hand a disdainful take on the state of contemporary society and collective human behavior, with a healthy apocalyptic vibe. On another, it has a more complex, introspective element, with the epic sections of the music offering a counterpoint to the nihilism in the lyrics. Binding it all together is the work of UK collage artist JoyPolloi, somehow translating an intangible fifteen minutes of music into a single piece of abstract art, representing the final piece of the WESTON SUPER MAIM jigsaw.
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