photos by James Rexroad
Seattle, Washington-based GREAT FALLS, uniting a cast of underground lifers hailing from the likes of Kiss It Goodbye, Undertow, Playing Enemy, Bastard Feast, Gaytheist, and more, present their most unhinged and harrowing release to date with The Bite That Grows Up, rapidly approaching October release on Neurosis’ label, Neurot Recordings.
The forty-minute The Bite That Grows Up once again showcases why GREAT FALLS is revered as one of the heaviest bands in the American Pacific Northwest. The band’s sludge-meets-hardcore brutality is tinged with hues of emotional post-metal, scathing noise dirges, blasting percussive attacks, and an all-encompassing low-end tone that obliterates everything within earshot on The Bite That Grows Up.
Joining the trio of guitarist/vocalist Demian Johnston, bassist Shane Mehling, and drummer/vocalist Nickolis Parks, The Bite That Grows Up is infiltrated with additional instrumentation by frequent collaborator John Schork (Half Majesty), and the lead single “Nicotine In The Spine” features additional vocals by Peter Clement Lund, the late guitarist/vocalist of Danish band and GREAT FALLS tourmates Kollapse, who tragically passed away a few weeks after tracking these vocals. The album was engineered by Scott Evans (Neurosis, Sumac, Shearling) at Studio Litho – owned by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam – mixed by Evans at Antisleep, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Obituary, Deadguy), and completed with photography by Mitchell Wojcik and illustration and design by Demian Johnston.
Stream GREAT FALLS’ decimating “Nicotine In The Spine” streaming everywhere at THIS LOCATION.
The Bite That Grows Up will be released on LP – Neon Orange, Mustard, and Black/Gold Burst Splatter variants – as well as CD and Digital formats on October 16th. Preorders for all formats and merch are live through Neurot Recordings HERE.
Additional preview tracks will drop ahead of the album over the weeks ahead.
The Bite That Grows Up Track Listing:
1. A Small Weakness
2. Pinned Against Time
3. Worse Than Sleep
4. Hailstone Numbers
5. Nicotine In The Spine
6. Debt Ethics
7. Buildings Full Of Rope
8. What No One Can Give
GREAT FALLS has announced an Eastern North American tour with labelmates Kowloon Walled City, just ahead of the release of The Bite That Grows Up. The trek brings them through Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Youngstown, Brooklyn, Cambridge, and Philadelphia October 5th through 12th, including a set at Emissions From The Monolith alongside Voivod, Cavity, Torche, Rwake, Weedeater, Bongzilla, Today Is The Day, and many others. The new album will be on sale early at these dates.
GREAT FALLS East Coast Autumn 2026 w/ Kowloon Walled City:
10/05/2026 X-Ray Arcade – Milwaukee, WI
10/06/2026 Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL
10/07/2026 Sanctuary – Detroit, MI
10/08/2026 Monarch Tavern – Toronto, ON
10/09/2026 Emissions From The Monolith – Youngstown, OH
10/10/2026 Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
10/11/2026 Sonia – Cambridge, MA
10/12/2026 Milk Boy – Philadelphia, PA
When GREAT FALLS released their Neurot Recordings debut, Objects Without Pain, in 2023, it sounded like a nuclear explosion; one of the most crushing and despondent albums ever to come out of the Pacific Northwest. Drawing favorable comparisons to artists like KEN Mode, Chat Pile, and Old Man Gloom, it showed clear influence from seminal artists throughout its history, alongside a progression all their own.
Between legendary live performances at Roadburn in 2025, Northwest Terror Fest in 2026, direct support on Botch’s final European tour, and a recent US stint with heavyweight juggernauts Primitive Man, the band reteamed with Scott Evans for their follow-up. Before going into the studio, they aimed for a tamer counterpart to their previous record, like the fallout after an atom bomb. The result, their new album, The Bite That Grows Up, turned out to be one of the most vicious, brutal, and uncompromising albums of the year.
Vocalist/guitarist Demian Johnston (Playing Enemy, Kiss It Goodbye) writes his lyrics tersely, saying only what is necessary to make a point. While the guitar riffs are notoriously difficult to recreate, using bizarre tunings that find dissonance in every chord, his words on The Bite That Grows Up are to the point. Short sentences, fragments of conversations, and brief but startling admissions of guilt. They center around a group therapy session that Johnston has invented for himself, saying, “I stained the glass, I built the church, I am here every week,” on “Worse Than Sleep.” In this mental safe haven, he makes uncomfortable confessions and necessary apologies, with the lead single “Nicotine In The Spine,” addressing his own daughter. “I’m not prepared. I’m barely Dad. You should run to the woods. Find a pack. Find a home.” He is not vague or verbose, but uses poignant declarations and his flamethrower of a scream to draw you in.
This entire album is a chaotic listen with disorienting rhythms and dissonant riffs that are difficult to pin down, turning on a dime as soon as you try to nod your head to it. This is largely thanks to the complex, lightning-fast drumming of Nick Parks (Gaytheist) and Shane Mehling’s (Playing Enemy) destructive bass tone, written to line up with Johnston, or completely deviate, at the right time. Mehling is also known for a stage presence just as intense and aggressive as the monstrous tone of his instrument. Johnston and Mehling have been best friends for 25 years, and when the latter dives into the audience and starts headbutting concertgoers because his rig stopped working, all the other can do is laugh, and simply respond with “It’s not supposed to sound like that.”
The Bite That Grows Up is full of pummeling misery and heartbreak, yet the most arresting part of the record is a moment of relief. “Hailstone Numbers” is the most dynamic song on the album, highlighting the subtle noise embellishments of collaborator John Schork that are omnipresent throughout the record. The first half is most comparable to a funeral dirge, as Parks replaces his typical kick with a broken drum, his “cymbal” a metal chain, scraping on the studio’s concrete floor. Distant drones help the song seamlessly morph into the album’s emotional peak. “When we see that where we come from is where we go,” is the longest sentence spoken on the record, and it encapsulates the biggest fear prodding Johnston’s mind. Death is the one thing he feels he has in common with those around him, and eventually, we will all come crashing down with it. His scream is searing, a blowtorch against the skin.
On the closer, “What No One Can Give,” Johnston reflects on what could have been, how everything was supposed to pan out for his daughter, as he walks out of the mind church he has constructed once more. “Tell me it worked,” he begs. “That she’s all right. That she’s okay.” The album ends just as fiercely as it began, coming to a close so soon despite songs that contain multitudes within themselves, questions dying to be answered by someone who might be able to help. We must wonder where GREAT FALLS could possibly go from here. How high can they build? How expansive will their sound become in the future? The Bite That Grows Up sticks with you long after you catch it.
GREAT FALLS:
Shane Mehling – bass
Nickolis Parks – drums, vocals
Demian Johnston -guitar, vocals
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