BLIND EQUATION return in 2025 with perhaps their most ambitious release to date. ‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’ is the bands third LP and is scheduled for release on July 18th on
Prosthetic Records.
The first single from the album, NOTHING, is available to watch below. Preorders are live now!
‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’ sees the band exploring new territory by adding more gothic metal and death/doom elements to their boundless and ever-growing ‘cybergrind’ sound. The band’s key songwriter James McHenry describes the new record as “the heaviest & most brutal Blind Equation album to date, while simultaneously being the most soft and heartfelt”, which perfectly encapsulates the emotions felt throughout the LP. It’s intense, it’s obnoxious, but there is a whole load of feeling interwoven into the DNA of this electronic-colossus.
‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’ is the first record to be written with a sizeable amount of touring under the band’s belt, giving them foresight into what works best in the live environment. McHenry explains…“I had a better understanding of how Blind Equation operates as a live band and this album I feel will give the best experience for our live shows as well.” Despite ‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’ covering a lot of life’s negative aspects, it is actually overtly positive in message. McHenry described having many low points during the writing of the record, and that the creative process served as some sort of healing process. This is something the band hopes the listener will also experience when listening to the album. “The overarching meaning of the album is that even though we deal with these difficult times in our life, we have to carry on & get through them to reach the better moments. No matter what, life will destroy us time and time again and many things may never be resolved or have an answer in sight, but we must carry on & do our best to fight against it.”
The raw emotion in the lyrics is mirrored by McHenry’s vocal performance, and serves as an openly real and human element in the otherwise electronically dominant listening experience. Honest vocal performances is something that McHenry feels is missing from a lot of modern records, and was something he was keen to make prominent on ‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’. “I was really inspired by the vocal delivery on the first two Slipknot albums, first Korn record as well as artists like Lifelover where the expression is even more over-the-top. I feel like a lot of artists are afraid to be vulnerable & passionate in their vocals and being able to overcome that fear has resulted in what I feel is my best work to date.”
The record includes guest appearances from experimental rap artist JOHNNASCUS & the MySpace era trancecore artist Strawberry Hospital, both of whom help to expand the sprawling musical landscape. “Having them both on the album is truly surreal to me. They are artists who I feel are creating music that no one else is making & it is a great honour to have them on here.” BLIND EQUATION kick off this exciting new chapter with the first single NOTHING (MAY 22ND). It’s never an easy task to pick a single from an album that has so much to offer, McHenry explains why the band chose to lead with NOTHING for the first single from the record. “Every song on this release brings something different to the table, as it’s meant to be listened to in full. However when choosing a single to show some insight on what to expect from the album, I feel this song perfectly captures it while not giving away too much of what’s to come. It is heavily nu-metal inspired & overall pays homage to the early works of artists like The Prodigy, Fear Factory, Korn, Slipknot & etc while still sounding like a Blind Equation track.
This is the most aggressive & the most violently passionate the project has ever been, yet it is the most atmospheric and still shimmers melodically when it needs to. And I feel that is mostly what you can expect from the upcoming album; the heavy moments are heavier and the soft moments are even more vulnerable as well. With the project being 90% digital, I wanted the instrumentals to still be as emotional as the lyrics & vocals and I feel they compliment each other the best they ever have for this record.” BLIND EQUATION have without doubt created their strongest record to date with ‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’. It’s an album that explores so many sub-genres, whilst maintaining a tight and cohesive listening experience throughout. There’s truly something for all fans of genre-pushing underground music here.
“There is shit you can mosh to, dance to, sing along to and cry to all in the same project”
Get ready to do all of the above when ‘A FUNERAL IN PURGATORY’ drops on July 18th.