Venomous Concept - the punk band formed by Napalm Death's Shane Embury and former Brutal Truth vocalist Kevin Sharp - are barreling towards the February 24 release of their new album, The Good Ship Lollipop, via Decibel Records. Today they take their biggest step yet, with the release of the record's third video, "Fractured", which features Embury on lead vocals, and holds a special place in the songwriter's heart. The arresting clip was created and directed by Andy Lefton and can viewed below.
"I was sitting outside the recording studio in Cambridge on a summer's day thinking about this song, lyrically and vocally," says Embury. "We were a few months into the pandemic and Kevin had gotten into the U.K. to record his vocals for the Venomous Concept album, which was a relief! I sat there wondering what was happening in our world. Fiction seemed to have merged with reality where we all experienced so much stress, so much anxiety. I am not special - the pandemic affected us all in ways we don't yet realize.
"Music was always my comfort, but during this time my family needed me to be strong and I really wasn't. I was breaking apart and trying to figure out how to put myself back together, and hopefully leave some of the bad bits behind.
"Memories came - my childhood, my parents, my family, my children, my friends. Then the words to 'Fractured' came...I am still piecing myself back together, trying to be just good enough."
"Fractured" will be available on all major streaming services this Friday, February 3.
The group's fifth full-length will receive an exclusive North American vinyl and cassette release through Decibel Records, which is available for pre-order here in the following limited-edition formats:
- Glow-in-the-Dark(ness) Blue Vinyl (limited to 100 copies)
- Lollipop Pink Vinyl (limited to 200 copies)
- Hazy Weed Vinyl (limited to 200 copies)
- Lollipop Pink Cassette Shell Tape (limited to 100 copies)
Engineered by Piers Mortimer (Deep Purple) and produced by long-time friend and soundman Simon Efemey (Paradise Lost, Amorphis), the record was challengingly recorded during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
"It was an amazing fun and creative experience, recording while there were COVID restrictions," Embury offers. "We seem to only now dimly recall the whole process but this record lives it and breathes it...When the pandemic hit, we decided we needed to make an album that didn't fit. We all loved so much other kind of punk and rock, so why not explore that which is, in essence, closer to our hearts? To do the same album over and over again would be boring."
"When Decibel released the Deadguy live record [Buyer's Remorse] this year, my gears turned," says Sharp. "Having supported the band in print and via flexi disc, we were stoked to see [Decibel editor] Albert [Mudrian]'s interest in this VC record. It's a different kind record and deserves a different kind of approach. The music industry is in constant evolution and this approach to getting our music out seems like a good fit amongst old friends on our terms."
The Good Ship Lollipop is also available in the following formats from Graphite Records in the UK:
- Standard Black Vinyl
- Exclusive CD edition
- Digital edition (worldwide)
The Good Ship Lollipop tracklisting:
"The Good Ship Lollipop"
"Timeline"
"Slack Jaw"
"Pig"
"Clinical"
"Fractured"
"Voices"
"So Sick"
"Flowers Bloom"
"The Humble Crow"
"Can’t Lose"
"Everything is Endlessness"
"Life’s Winter"
"Timeline" video:
"Voices":
Venomous Concept lineup:
Shane Embury - bass
Kevin Sharp - vocals
John Cooke - guitars
Carl Stokes - drums
