New project R U N has landed with a ground-shaking thud courtesy of their debut track, “For You”. The product of Lochlan Watt and Mike Deslandes, R U N collects decades of work and presence within the world of heavy music in Australia. Each bring their individual skills, having previously proved themselves via acts like Thy Art Is Murder and High Tension.
But “For You” is less about proving themselves and more about being a cathartic purge of fear and pain. The two artists bonded over personal difficulty, with R U N becoming a creative lifeline. Subsequently, this first look at the project is breathtakingly intense of both sound and theme, where the listener is figuratively forced to stare into the black abyss of mortality. It’s uncomfortable, yet unflinchingly solid, and comes reinforced by production efforts of Deslands, mixing and mastering by Will Putney, and has session drums by Joel Taylor.
“This life will never be for anyone but me“
Contrary to any assumptions about the title, Watt shares that the song is for the self more than anyone else, and I can’t shake the bleak isolation that comes with contemplating your end while life goes on around you. Drum intensity and darting riffs set the scene of his questions about his future. Reinforced lines like “I feel the timeline fade” hit home the gut-punch that could be expected when you’re facing a cancer diagnosis. Honestly? It all feels too personal for me to even write about, and I can’t imagine the difficulty of voicing these things, let alone living them.
The brief moments of sedate quietness in “For You” hit harder with the question mark of ‘Will I be remembered?’ hanging silently above them. But an internal scream is returned to throughout the track via relentless drum blasts and searing vocals. With mortality’s clock ticking, the line of “Please know that I meant it when you stood beside me” asks to be remembered by the important and meaningful moments.
There’s a full length release promised for R U N, but for now, find everything “For You” here: https://lnk.to/runmetalforyou
Photo credit: John Hatfield
