photos by Mike Burns
Akron, Ohio-based RADIAN will release their third LP, Subterfuge, as a collaboration between the band’s El Burno Records and Third House Communications.
RADIAN formed in the winter of 2017 as guitarist Mike Burns (Rue, Sofa King Killer) set out to fuse groove and grime into something both confrontational and enduring. The project took shape on its independent debut, Chapters (2019), a sludgy, dynamic statement praised by The Obelisk for, “that extra bit of aggression one finds underlying the most satisfying of sludge metals.” The record established RADIAN as a formidable presence in the Midwest metal underground, built on relentless shows and a DIY work ethic.
This drive carried into Discordian (2022), released via Burns’ own El Burno Records. Darker and less forgiving, the album reflected a band pushing against the limits. Touring in support of the record brought both expansion and fracture – multiple lineup changes, periods of uncertainty, and turbulence that ultimately reshaped the band’s direction.
During this period, RADIAN’s lineup coalesced with renewed focus and intent, featuring vocalist Corey Staley, drummer Derek Vaive, and bassist Carly Allman, alongside Burns. What followed was not simply new material, but a reframing of purpose. The result is Subterfuge, a concept-driven album that channels a recasting of sludge and doom into a tale of resistance, survival, and cultural preservation.
Set in a reimagined, modern-day Egypt – one that never fell to Roman conquest – Subterfuge tells the story of a man willing to do whatever it takes to protect his home, his people, and his culture from a cabal of overlords bent on erasure for personal gain. While rooted in a reimagined history, the album is riddled with comparisons to contemporary society: exploitation, manufactured collapse, and rebellion in the face of systems designed to consume rather than sustain.
Musically, Subterfuge showcases RADIAN at their most focused and unrelenting – a beautifully oppressive, groove-laden sludge, sharpened by a narrative arc and delivered with the weight of lived experience. It is both a continuation of the group’s sonic identity and a declaration of renewal; a record that mirrors the band’s own journey, carrying their vision deeper into the underground with uncompromising force.
Subterfuge was recorded and engineered by Mike Burns, except for the bass which was recorded by Brian “BeZo” Zorich. The record was mixed by Sanford Parker at Hypercube (Voivod, Darkthrone, YOB), mastered by Collin Jordan at Boiler Room Mastering (Ministry, Eyehategod, Spirit Adrift), and completed with artwork by Radian with the art concept and layout by Derek Vaive.
Corey Staley reveals, “Subterfuge is a story of a man willing to do whatever it takes to safeguard his home, his people and his culture from a cabal of overlords dead set on destroying everything in their path for their own personal gain. Set in a modern-day Egypt as if it never fell to the Romans in ancient times and riddled with parallels of the world we live in today.”
The album’s announcement sees the band deploying a video for its thundering lead single, “Spiraling Ash,” filmed and edited by Joe Fortunato, which puts the new RADIAN lineup’s live energy on full display.
Staley continues, “In ‘Spiraling Ash’ you will find the main character William being sent on a suicide mission to retrieve a long-lost relic to be brought back to its rightful home and dually awakening an ethereal power in the character to its full propensity. A musing of fearlessness and divine intervention.”
Watch RADIAN’s “Spiraling Ash” video now at THIS LOCATION.
Subterfuge will be released digitally and on 12” vinyl on March 20th. Preorders are now open HERE.
Additional audio/video previews of the LP will be issued over the weeks ahead
Subterfuge Track Listing:
1. Toothless Wolf
2. Spiraling Ash
3. Fathom
4. Ethereal Thirst
5. William
6. Subterfuge
7. Fluidity
With plans of regular widespread touring planned for the year, RADIAN has already booked several shows for the months ahead, including a hometown gig February 28th, a set supporting The Obsessed in Cleveland on March 12th, and another Cleveland show one day later with Acid Bath.
RADIAN Live:
2/28/2026 Musica – Akron, OH
3/12/2026 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH w/ The Obsessed
3/13/2026 Agora Theater & Ballroom – Cleveland, OH w/ Acid Bath
RADIAN:
Corey Staley – vocals
Mike Burns – guitars
Carly Allman – bass
Derek Vaive – drums
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https://thirdhousecommunications.bandcamp.com
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