Boston hard rock band, Cruel Miracle, have just rolled out their brand new single, “Stone.” Coming off their 2024 album, Steadfast, which dropped last summer, it is partnered by a DIY video, created by the band members themselves. Watch it below and read more from the band.
“Stone” is a story about perseverance – staying strong while remaining true to yourself,” the band declares, speaking on the new release as a cohesive voice of one. “In typical Cruel Miracle fashion, one of us brought some riffs and then we all worked on the structure and arrangements. This was first created as a post-pandemic tune, so the feel was based on the struggles of the time and the battle against our personal demons.”
In the ever-expanding Cruel Miracle multiverse, sometimes it all comes down to a riff. And that riff can lead us on a journey of perseverance and endurance, best experienced at maximum volume. That’s at the core of the band’s commanding new video for “Stone.” The YouTube debut comes a few days after Cruel Miracle show it off up in Vermont for a return appearance at Spanky’s Dive Bar in Springfield, heading back north to play and party at Spanky Payne and Allan Reardon’s annual birthday bash alongside Jonee Earthquake Band, Marianne Toilet and The Runs, and a half-dozen other bands from around New England.
The new video and the all-day, outdoor Vermont bash are intertwined through Cruel Miracle’s various networks of camaraderie and brotherhood. The hard-charging and unrelenting quartet has continued to lean into an ethos of inclusion through music that brings people together. Which positions Cruel Miracle as much a mental attitude as a band, with the members simply supplying a soundtrack of classic rock for modern times. And there’s plenty of room to come along for the ride. The psychedelic, riff-fueled track is the band’s visual follow-up to last year’s “Wicked Ways [1999]””, which dropped, appropriately, on the Fourth of July. But the latest dose of video fireworks from Cruel Miracle is more stripped-down in nature, allowing the song to expand and take hold while showcasing the band doing what it does best – rocking the eff out.
“We spent time looking at videos from the ‘60s all the way to the mid-’90s – where most of us cut our teeth,” they add. “There was no real theme or direction, we just wanted something kind of random and psychedelic. We also wanted to showcase ourselves playing in our own environment. It all goes back to the visuals and feel of that old-school rock scene – capturing that hard rock essence and delivering an accurate representation of what Cruel Miracle is today.”
The video for “Stone,” as well as the blistering track itself, showcases how Cruel Miracle has evolved, both musically and artistically, since forming a decade ago. With a few lineup shuffles over the years and some well-received musical side-quests, like 2020 pandemic concept release Camaraderie, detailing their shared love for the motorcycle experience, the band has developed a classic hard rock sound inspired by the long-gone greats but sharpened by the life in the chaotic and uneven 21st-century. The band feed off each other’s kinetic energy, whether on the highways, in the studio, or live on stage.
“It’s a brotherhood – we’re all family, even past members,” the band states. “We still ride together and barbecue when we’re not ‘working’ on band-related things. We all get along and respect each other’s opinions and we’re usually on the same page when it comes down to music writing. We have a blast feeding off of each other’s energy on stage on our live shows and we never get bored of being part of the Cruel Miracle machine.”
That shines through on “Stone,” with Charlie Black’s guttural howl breaking through the screen and speakers as a rallying cry that invites us into the band’s world.
“While “Stone” wasn’t the first song written for the album, once we wrote it we knew it was going to be the baseline for the feel of Steadfast,” they conclude. “It encompasses all the aspects of what Cruel Miracle is today – the ‘core’ essence. We don’t try to deliver any kind of set message, but rather let the music speak for itself and let people’s imaginations go with the flow of the tunes.”
Cruel Miracle emerges as a relentless force in the world of hard rock, fusing the primal essence of classic riffs with the audacious spirit of modern innovation. Their music is a sonic assault on the senses, igniting a fire within both music lovers and seasoned musicians alike. With a fierce stage presence and a penchant for pushing boundaries, Cruel Miracle delivers performances that are as electrifying as they are unforgettable. They epitomize the raw energy and unbridled passion that defines the essence of rock ‘n’ roll. Brace yourself for the sonic onslaught – Cruel Miracle is here to shake the foundations of the music world.
Cruel Miracle is:
Charlie Black – Main vocals and bass
Joe Cook – Drums and backing vocals
Aaron Leonard – Keys and backing vocals
Doug Hendler – Guitars
Follow Cruel Miracle:
https://www.cruelmiracle.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7dEqEakf8YnAHSo1XOptib
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cruel-miracle/996662795
https://cruelmiracle.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC24RvqIVud8pzK-UXWElqDQ
https://x.com/cruelmiracle
https://www.instagram.com/CruelMiracle
https://www.facebook.com/CruelMiracle/