Chicago cybergrinders Blind Equation are gearing up to release their new album Death Awaits on 9/15 via Prosthetic (pre-order), and we’re now premiering its new single “Killing Me,” which features Rat Jesu, along with the song’s video. Like past singles, the song finds the middle ground between harsh, heavy, extreme music and bubblegummy hyperpop, and it’s fueled by negative emotions. Band leader James McHenry told us more about the new song, its video, the album overall, and the cybergrind community in a short Q&A. Check out the new single and read what James had to say below.
We’re premiering the video for “Killing Me.” What can you tell us about this song and video in particular?
‘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.
This album sounds like a pretty noticeable evolution from the last. What were some things you wanted to do differently on this one?
On my past releases, I would stick with the same 10-12 synths and not differentiate from the normal programmed drums aside from the occasional 8-bit drums on ‘LIFE IS PAIN’. This album, I wanted to experiment a lot more with adding more synths and textures in the mix and expanding Blind Equation’s sound beyond the strictly chiptune sounds on my last few releases. My approach for writing on this album was much different as well, as most songs have a traditional song structure with a chorus that repeats while my past releases would usually consist of 30-second to 2-minute songs with a more linear song structure. Overall, I wanted to write a Blind Equation album that breaks the rules and boundaries that I set up for myself on past releases and try out new things to further grow my sound and I think it paid off in the end.
How would you explain “cybergrind” to someone who’s never heard the term?
The term “cybergrind” would be used in the past to describe traditional grindcore music with electronic elements such as programmed drums, industrial soundscapes & etc. I feel that because of the internet and easier access to music production tools, that definition has changed quite a lot along with the sound of the genre. Right now, I view cybergrind as more of an ethos than a genre with certain boxes to check to fit the sound. Many cybergrind artists in our current scene sound vastly different from each other, however we all find common ground in creating heavy music on our computers and wanting to push the boundaries of our genre and sound at the same time.