Photo by Marcus Marino
“Civil wrongs destroy civil rights…” – “Insidious System”
Watch RHYTHM OF FEAR’s “Insidious System” video HERE.
RHYTHM OF FEAR today unleashes their sobering new video for “Insidious System.” Now playing at No Echo, the track comes by way of the band’s impending new full-length, Fatal Horizons, set to drop October 14th via MNRK Heavy.
Summoned from the sadistic swamps of Jacksonville, in the heavy metal-rich soil of the state of Florida, RHYTHM OF FEAR worships at the altar of thrash metal and crossover. Committed to unrelenting riffage, the band gleefully reinvigorates the timeless collision of speed, musicianship, and attitude.
Unapologetic bangers like “Dark Energy” and “Ten Theories” quickly became underground classics to a growing legion of like-minded supporters who snapped up the band’s 2011 demo, the Mass Illusion EP (2015), and full-length debut, Maze Of Confusion (2016). The appetite for devastation only intensified with the Ritual Dementia EP (2019), featuring “Vortex Of Torment,” and RHYTHM OF FEAR’s impassioned take on “Over And Out,” a deep cut from the early power metal years of Pantera.
Now the band returns with Fatal Horizons, a sophomore slab of cleverly crafted crossover frenzy. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Joey Jones (Royal Thunder, Cloak) with sci-fi/horror artwork from Mario Lopez (Toxik, Skeletal Remains, Evil Invaders), Fatal Horizons’ thirteen-tracks are richly thematic and devilishly accessible in equal measure.
Comments the band of “Insidious System,” “‘Insidious System’ is about the corrupt system that we have appointed to protect us. A system that should serve and protect but instead enforces and collects. A system that thrives off of fear and manipulation. A system that infringes on our basic human rights. It’s been going on for so long and we can only hope that the more people realize how poisonous it all is the better chance there is for change.”
Notes No Echo of the track, “RHYTHM OF FEAR can hold a clinic on how to produce high-quality crossover thrash.”
View RHYTHM OF FEAR’s “Insidious System” video, courtesy of No Echo, at THIS LOCATION.
View the band’s previously released video for “Tears Of Ecstasy” at THIS LOCATION.
Fatal Horizons will be available on CD, LP, cassette, and digitally. Find preordering options at THIS LOCATION.
RHYTHM OF FEAR’s degree of excellence owes much to the more widely recognized genre forebearers. But perhaps just as crucially, the band – Jay Santiago (vocals), Cody James (guitar), Logan Miano (drums), and Justin Styron (bass) – devours a wide range of diverse and obscure metal bands to craft their own brew.
Chief among those influences is a crucial group of bands active from the late ‘80s to the early ‘90s, whom RHYTHM OF FEAR lovingly refers to as “the trinity,” namely Chicago’s Cyclone Temple (and the ashes of the band Znöwhite), Seattle powerhouse Forced Entry, and Slammer, from the UK. Rather than simply rehash the past however, RHYTHM OF FEAR absorbs and examines metal history’s greatest strengths, reassembling the parts into a fresh Frankenstein forged by the band’s unique identity and experience.
“On Fatal Horizons, we’ve come even more into our own,” notes Santiago. “Maze Of Confusion was very thrash metal and very hardcore driven. Aside from our lead guitar player, all of us grew up in the hardcore scene. We established ourselves as a true crossover band, with fast metal parts and funky hardcore grooves. There’s still a bit of groovy flavor, but Fatal Horizons is even thrashier.”
Thematically, Fatal Horizons delves deeper into the human psyche with relatable themes of depression, addiction, and anger. Alien abduction, magic rituals, and the occult pepper their songs with personality and spirit while the justice system and politics are targets within the framework of broader fantasy metaphors.
Album opener “Obsolescence” confronts addiction. “Alien Synthesis” is about the aftermath of the abduction. The title track puts the listener at the center of a black hole. “Parasomniac” details Santiago’s struggles with the sleep disorder EHS, aka Exploding Head Syndrome, which awakens sufferers with imagined sounds. The simulation hypothesis is at the heart of “Simulated Times,” inspired by one of Santiago’s dreams. There are instrumental interludes throughout Fatal Horizons, synergizing the cosmic themes of mortality. “Ceremony Of Sacrifice” closes it all with an exploration of Mayan and Aztec mythology.
RHYTHM OF FEAR Live:
9/08/2022 Lodge Of Sorrow – Savannah, GA w/ Fulci
9/16/2022 Central Florida Metal Fest – Orlando, FL
9/20/2022 1904 Music Hall – Jacksonville, FL w/ Exodus, Death Angel
RHYTHM OF FEAR:
Jay Santiago – vocals
Cody James – guitar
Justin Styron – bass
Logan Miano – drums
http://www.facebook.com/rhythmoffear
http://www.instagram.com/rhythmoffear
http://www.twitter.com/rhythmoffear
http://www.mnrkheavy.com
http://www.facebook.com/MNRKHeavy
http://www.twitter.com/MNRKHeavy
http://www.instagram.com/MNRK_heavy