July 14th sees the release of the the speaker-shattering “Obliteration”. The epic nature of the track belies its modest, radio-friendly run time. This is three and a half minutes of existential chaos, pure human angst ground out through power chords, heavy riffs and a soaring, anthemic chorus. It’s not so much a loud-quiet-loud dynamic as a loud-quiet-monstrously loud one. From out of the blocks, Patrick’s vocals are pushed into the red, and from there… things only get heavier.
Patrick exhorts: “Ashes circle the drain / and now it’s all that’s left / all that’s left of me / sink my teeth in the pain / watching the world go numb / and I’m just one step from obliteration.”
And the track ends as it began, with Patrick’s vocals out front laying down the word and singing up a storm. No one claimed this was cheerful subject matter, but if only all post-apocalyptic treatises could be this anthemic and catchy, perhaps end times will be a little more bearable.
Produced by Patrick and long-time collaborator Brian Virtue, “Obliteration” was co-written by Patrick, Sam Tinnesz, and Ian Scott and Mark Jackson (Grandson, Bishop Briggs),
The single “Obliteration” can be pre-saved here.
The video for “Obliteration”, created by German-based film-maker, Atanas Shopski, is an inspired animation that carries the song’s post-apocalyptic vision with an unsettling similitude. Says Shopski of the video: “This was a great challenge for me. One that pushed me to discover my limits, creatively, artistically, mentally… We decided to go for an element of hope in this world full of despair and show the struggle of the innocent with the merciless surroundings. We follow this girl, who is the last survivor after the obliteration of her world, on her dark adventure in search for other life.”
Watch the video for “Obliteration”.