Chicago, IL's BLIND EQUATION is today premiering their new single and accompanying music video, killing me, via Brooklyn Vegan. killing me is the third single to be taken from the cybergrind group's forthcoming sophomore album, DEATH AWAITS, which is set to be released via Prosthetic Records on September 15. The track features Oklahoma experimental/HexD artist Rat Jesu, and a Thomas Gabriellini directed music video shot at BLIND EQUATION's recent Daytona Beach, Florida tour date.
LISTEN TO KILLING ME (FEATURING RAT JESU) VIA BROOKLYN VEGAN HERE.
killing me (featuring Rat Jesu) will be available on all streaming services on August 24.
Pre-order DEATH AWAITS here.
Speaking on the premiere, BLIND EQUATION's James McHenry comments: "killing me is a very fast paced and melodic cybergrind song with occasional bit-crushed pop sections and 808s added to the sound. When people ask me what BLIND EQUATION’s new direction is, this song is the perfect representation of that.
"The song’s lyrics deal with being in a bad place mentally and bottling those emotions up inside and not being able to open up to people, despite knowing that doing so would help. It is easy to fear feeling like a burden to others or that your feelings are not as important as others, but since writing this song I’ve learned how important it is to open up and that your true friends will listen and be there for you during those rough times. I hope that people can relate to this song and can learn from my experience.
"The video was shot and edited in Daytona Beach Florida by my good friend Thomas Gabriellini, who I’ve worked with in the past on a few videos on the last album cycle. The footage is from the show we played there on our most recent run with DEATHTRIPPA and it gives a taste of what a live BLIND EQUATION performance is like."
Having become a staple name in the burgeoning modern cybergrind scene, BLIND EQUATION has seen sole songwriter James McHenry nurture his talents for the better part of a decade in the form of various split releases, EPs and 2021 full-length Life Is Pain. Abandoning genre confines, McHenry’s unique amalgam of grind, hardcore, extreme metal, chiptune and electronics has come to define BLIND EQUATION’s sound.
Following Life Is Pain’s warm reception in online circles by fans and critics alike, the intervening years have seen BLIND EQUATION amass numerous live performances and US tours - with shows alongside HEALTH, Author and Punisher, Tallah and The Callous Daoboys having taken place in 2023 alone - picking up a dedicated following for the band along the way.
In rare moments of downtime from the road, DEATH AWAITS was conceptualised as a meditation on real world anxieties and largely negative lived experiences. Retaining complete creative control of BLIND EQUATION’s musical and lyrical output, DEATH AWAITS was self-produced and mastered by McHenry for streaming and CD before being placed in the hands of audio engineer Steve Perrino for vinyl mastering duties.
Unflinching accounts of mutilation, deception and depression appear repeatedly throughout DEATH AWAITS, be it the pulsating 8-bit electronics and blastbeats of lead single never getting better that explode into positively anthemic proclamations of the title in the chorus, or the desiderium of you betrayed the ones you love’s electronic strings that give way to scathing rebuttals of broken trust. DEATH AWAITS presents interpersonal disarray and suffering in its rawest and most confessional form, summarised best on suffering in silence’s one-two vocal trade offs and glitched-out hardcore pandemonium featuring New Zealand artist DEATHTRIPPA.
DEATH AWAITS’ fatalistic worldview is captured in blurred neon pinks and grainy black by visual artist angel gasm, with light leaking effects on the symbolic flower as a beacon of hope among the hurt. For all the anguish BLIND EQUATION pulls from for the latest full-length there is sure to be those who find solace and comfort here, and DEATH AWAITS may well prove to not only be a watershed moment in modern cybergrind but also the beginning of a limitless creative incline for the band.