Screamo bands Massa Nera (from NJ) and Quiet Fear (from LA) are teaming up to release a split LP, Quatro Vientos // Cinco Soles, on January 12 via Persistent Vision Records (pre-order). Instead of sequencing it as one band’s half first and the other second, Massa Nera and Quiet Fear alternate their three tracks throughout the record, and it ends with a collaborative song from both bands. One single from each band, Massa Nera’s “Bloated” and Quiet Fear’s “Presidio,” make their premieres in this post.
“The world has proven to be a scary and unjust place, but we’re gonna continue to make noise about what needs to be changed,” Quiet Fear says of this record.
“Community is only useful if it is organized around something that generates or promotes the continued generation of capital,” adds Massa Nera. “If one is aware of their dual status as both a cog within the capitalist machine (worker) and driver of capitalism (consumer), it’s easy to fall into a state of utter nihilistic despair (at least, it is for us!). Connections fall by the wayside. Those that remain feel more transactional. It becomes easy to lose sight of how precious (and how fleeting) our time is. Our three songs, then, represent us succumbing to, and ultimately rejecting, nihilistic despair. It’s our attempt to reach out once more, not in the hope that doing so will serve as a panacea, but in recognition that the only way forward is side-by-side with the people we love.”
“We hope this album serves as an example for a stronger connection of the screamo and hardcore community as a whole,” says Quiet Fear. “We’re a collective of creatives striving to set the stage for any and everyone to feel like they belong. We’re trying to open the door for folks like us to never feel that this music is out of reach or not for them.”
Both singles are pretty tremendous; Massa Nera open up the record with “Bloated,” a song that finds them leaning into their heaviest side, with elements of sludge and crust injected into their usual ’90s-style screamo fury. Quiet Fear’s “Presidio” goes for something with a little more punch and sass, in a way that kinda reminds me of the much-missed Comadre. Both tracks are extremely worth hearing and you can do that below.
Massa Nera’s songs were engineered, mixed, and co-produced by Steve Roche (of Saetia, Off Minor, etc), and Quiet Fear’s were engineered, mixed, and mastered by Raul Cuéllar and produced by Nick Riggs.
**
As recently mentioned, Massa Nera are doing a short Northeast tour this month with Infant Island (who just announced their new album Obsidian Wreath for Secret Voice). That hits NYC on December 15 at Trans-Pecos with Sonagi and Auxiena Saint.
Massa Nera are also touring the West Coast in January, including two shows with Quiet Fear, and Quiet Fear have some gigs this month too. All dates for both bands are listed below.
Tracklist
1) Massa Nera – Bloated
2) Quiet Fear – Entre las manos y el colmillo
3) Massa Nera – Division
4) Quiet Fear – N.U.M.
5) Massa Nera – I Point to the River
6) Quiet Fear – Presidio
7) Massa Nera & Quiet Fear – Nueva llama
Massa Nera — 2023/2024 Tour Dates
Tour with Infant Island:
12/14 – Pittsburgh, PA (West Egg) with Kaiba and Violence
12/15 – Ridgewood, NY (Trans-Pecos) with Sonagi and Auxiena Saint
12/16 – Boston, MA (Democracy Center) with New Forms
12/17 – Philadelphia, PA (Kung Fu Necktie) (matinee) with Lastima and Mt. Ida
12/18 – Richmond, VA (Bandito’s) with Ostraca and Humanitarian Deficit
Southern CA Tour:
01/18 – Fullerton, CA (Programme Skate & Sound) w/ Onewaymirror, Clay Birds, and Washer
01/19 – La Jolla, CA (Che Café) w/ Habak, Aren’t We Amphibians, …and today, it was you, and a Special Guest
01/20 – Los Angeles, CA (Bad Dog Compound) w/ Quiet Fear, Lagrimas, Knumears, and Ghost Spirit
01/21 (Matinee) – Riverside, CA (Back to the Grind) w/ Trains to Juniper, and Triple Exposure
01/21 (Evening) – Pomona, CA w/ Knumears, Quiet Fear So Concerned, and Othiel
Quiet Fear — 2023/2024 Tour Dates
12/1 – Philadelphia, PA (Dilly Dally Festival)
12/12 – Fullerton, CA (Programme Skate & Sound)
01/20 – Los Angeles, CA (Bad Dog Compound) w/ Massa Nera, Lagrimas, Knumears, and Ghost Spirit
01/21 – Riverside, CA (Back to the Grind) w/ Massa Nera, Triple Exposure, and Trains to Juniper