“Contraband” is the latest single from UK death metal outfit VACUOUS. The track comes by way of their In His Blood full-length, set for release on February 28th via Relapse Records.
In His Blood is a compelling mix of blazing speeds, chilling atmospherics, and angular riffing that brings the band into their own unique space. “We’ve talked about having different influences, and it felt like a bit of a dare to push things further,” guitarist Michael Brodsky says. “Back in death metal’s formative days, with bands like Autopsy, Obituary, and Incantation, none of those bands sounded like each other: they were just pushing their collective influences together to the extreme. I think we’re still doing the same thing, just from the point of view of people who grew up in the 2000s.”
From the roaring, quick-fire intensity of the title track to the haunting atmospherics of “Hunger” and the cinematic rumbles of “Contraband,” with In His Blood, VACUOUS pushes the limits of what listeners might expect from death metal.
The album’s lyrics, penned by vocalist Jo Chen, explore a number of topics including horror films, serial killers, school shootings, toxic masculinity, and the Global North and South divide.
Of today’s single, Chen comments, “The song ‘Contraband’ is about the thirty-nine Vietnamese migrants who were suffocated in a lorry trying to come over to England. It was such a tragedy, but it was blink and you miss it; news today and gone tomorrow.
“I was born in London, but my family are from Malaysia, which is historically a poor country,” he continues. “There’s such a juxtaposition when I go back there. Here in the West, generally, people are often so comfortable. The only access that some people have to extreme poverty and violence is online.”
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