Following on from the chain rattling and slammingly heavy “No Justice”, Antagonist A.D have yesterday released new single “A.P.M.D.”. In June, the Greyscale Records heavies were welcomed back to the scene with intimate shows in Melbourne and Sydney, where the ‘hardcore kids’ greeted them with open arms, and a whole lot of moshing.
As part of that show, Antagonist A.D shared “A.P.M.D.” with us (“All Pigs Must Die”). It’s a savage title, maybe offensive to some, but it exudes the fierceness of passion that is being expressed by the band. Don’t worry about the literal pigs, it’s people that (vegan) vocalist Sam Crocker considers as “a cancer to the planet”. That distaste ripples through this song that aims for rigid (and faulty) established roots of authority to crumble to nothing, to perhaps make way for something new. Something that works.
There’s not a whole lot of hope to be found in “A.P.M.D.”, it’s pure fight and is focused upon destruction and breaking ancient systems, and laying waste to those that are behind the outdated societal rules who have ‘cursed us all’. In Sam’s words: “”A.P.M.D.” is how our society is built upon shaky foundations – set up for failure. It’s an angry metal song with beatdowns and a hardcore mind.”
Mixed and mastered by Lance Prenc, this huge and chaotic 2:11 ride doesn’t mess around and is pummelling and confronting from it’s immediate start. Waves of growls dump relentlessly down, along with unyielding earthshaking beats and deluges of unwavering and intricate riffs. Palpable fury is contagious here, kicking up a raw sense of fighting against authority; an audible uprising.
With chaotic pockets and also spaces for going hard in the mosh, it’ll be impossible not to move to this one, as witnessed by the “A.P.M.D.” live footage in the music video (bravely filmed by Warwick Hughes and Jay Wennington in the thick of Antagonist A.D shows). The huge track is a mere taste of the band’s passion for their music and the messages they share that is best enjoyed in person.
Having witnessed the band live myself, I’d emphatically suggest catching them in action as part of their tour with Thy Art Is Murder, label mates Alpha Wolf, and fellow New Zealanders Xile. In Sam’s words: “It’s a wild line up – all of these shows will be crazy. From now on we expect wild shows. Everything for us moving forward will be chaos, expect nothing less. We are excited for everything.” Get tickets for that here.
Catch “A.P.M.D.” in all your favourite places here: http://smarturl.it/AADAPMD
