Crossover thrash metal outfit and recent MNRK Heavy signees, Rhythm Of Fear, will unleash their first new full-length album in five years with Fatal Horizons on October 14, today revealing the record’s cover art, tracklisting, first single, and pre-orders.
Rhythm Of Fear worships at the altar of thrash metal and crossover. Summoned from the sadistic swamps of Jacksonville, in the heavy metal-rich soil of the state of Florida, the masters of gargantuan groove conjure a reverence for the form unrivaled by their peers. Committed to unrelenting riffage, Rhythm Of Fear 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 threatens to conquer the hearts and minds of all in metaldom with the vitriolic, thrashtastic, circle-pit-inciting 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.
With the record’s first single, the aptly titled “Tears Of Ecstasy”, the band gleefully reinvigorates the timeless collision of speed, musicianship, and attitude. The track is loosely based on Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, and holds nothing back while racing forward in a full-frontal assault.
Comments the band, “When writing the music for ‘Tears Of Ecstasy,’ we felt we had a song that took us in a new direction. We were careful not to force anything but allowed ourselves to naturally flow into the overall vibe. When we felt the structure was ready for lyrics we took inspiration from Hellraiser. We summoned the spirit of the Hell Priest himself while channeling our inner Cenobites and put together some words of violence, aggression, and seduction. It’s a little homage to a favorite film of ours while asking the age old question: ‘are you willing to die for pleasure?’ Are you?”
Watch the video below.
Fatal Horizons will be available on CD, LP, cassette, and digitally. Find pre-ordering options here.
Fatal Horizons tracklisting:
"Obsolescence"
"Alien Synthesis"
"Disintegration Of Reality"
"Fatal Horizon"
"Atrocities Beyond The Structures Of The Mind"
"Parasomniac"
"Insidious System"
"Self Destructive Brain"
"Dissolution Of Time In Space"
"Simulated Times"
"Tears Of Ecstasy"
"Oath Made In Hell"
"Ceremony Of Sacrifice"
"Tears Of Ecstasy" video:
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. “Sanctuary, Sacrifice, Midas Touch, I could go on and on,” Santiago gushes. “Of course, there are the Big 4 bands everybody gravitates toward, but we tend to go for the stuff not as many people know.”
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. “On Fatal Horizons, we’ve come even more into our own,” Santiago notes. “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.”
Alien abduction, magic rituals, and the occult pepper their songs with personality and spirit. Fatal Horizons delves deeper into the human psyche with relatable themes of depression, addiction, and anger. 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.
Rather than simply rehash the past, 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.
Lineup:
Jay Santiago - vocals
Cody James - guitar
Justin Styron - bass
Logan Miano - drums
(Photo - Marcus Marino)
