New England extreme metal unit Escuela Grind will release its new LP, Memory Theater, on September 30. Produced by Kurt Ballou, the album -- the band's first for MNRK Heavy (High On Fire, Crowbar) -- features nine tracks of sharp, scorching underground music that rages and rips in equal measure. Escuela Grind's Memory Theater is available for pre-order now at this location.
Get a sneak peek at what the new Escuela Grind album promises right now as the band releases a video for its rampaging new track, "Cliffhanger", which adroitly showcases the kinetic energy of the group's much talked about live performances.
“'Cliffhanger' is us branching out and including all of our influences into a heavy, danceable song. It’s a perfect representation of all the new things to expect from Escuela Grind," says vocalist Katerina Economou. "The lyrics are about the people that try to play both sides of the fence, play devil's advocate and drag you down with them. It’s about fighting crab mentality. This is just a taste of all the killer stuff coming on Memory Theater!”
Tracklisting:
"Endowed With Windows"
"My Heart, My Hands"
"Cliffhanger"
"Strange Creature"
"Faulty Blueprints"
"All Is Forgiven"
"Forced Collective Introspection"
"The Feed"
"Memory Theater"
The music might be terrifying, but the overwhelming spirit behind Escuela Grind is a message of empowerment. As it destroys musical boundaries, the quartet attacks the idea of “gatekeeping” with equal ferocity. Anytime Katerina Economou (vocals), Jesse Fuentes (drums), Kris Morash (guitar), and Tom Sifuentes (bass) convene, an aural apocalypse will ensue. Escuela Grind stitches together a new metallic hardcore monster from the rotten corpses of grind and power violence with gleefully unhinged blasts of percussive bombast and chaos.
Memory Theater, Escuela Grind's sophomore album, is seven minutes shorter than Slayer’s Reign In Blood, but with a few songs running past the three-minute mark, it’s downright epic by grindcore norms.
The album title references a specific historical concept, constructing a “space” from one’s internal ideas, knowledge, and perception. An architect by trade, Economou explores philosophy, politics, and experiential experimentation, building a kind of structure amidst the band's musical cacophony.
(Photo: Matt Viel)
