Extortionist have announced that they will release their new album, Devoid of Love & Light, on Friday, May 17th, via Unique Leader Records. They band have also shared the title track as a single and video. It follows their Devoid EP (the precursor to the forthcoming full-length) which included the tracks “Out of Touch”, “A Grim Disconnect” and most recently released, “Drained of Life”. Extortionist will also be hitting the stage across North America from April, alongside Born of Osiris, Attila, Traitors, and Not Enough Space on The Angels & Villains Tour 2024. Keep reading below for the new video, live listings, and more.
Stream “Devoid of Love & Light” and pre-save the album here.
Speaking on the news, the band commented:
“We are proud to announce that we will be releasing our 3rd full-length record ‘Devoid of Love & Light’ via Unique Leader Records on 5/17/24. Featuring tracks from our EP, ‘Devoid,’ this album coalesces themes of betrayal, mistrust, tragedy, dissociation, & identity crisis all into one cohesive expression.”
Devoid Of Love & Light tracklisting:
01 This Is What Haunts Me
02 Out Of Touch
03 A Grim Disconnect
04 Devoid Of Love & Light
05 Stockholm
06 Invisible Scars
07 Desynchronized
08 Drained Of Life
09 Dissociate
10 When It All Goes Dark
The Angels & Villains Tour USA 2024:
04/12 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
04/13 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Piere’s Entertainment Center
04/14 – Columbus, OH @ King of Clubs
04/15 – Buffalo, NY @ Iron Works
04/16 – New Kensington, PA @ Preserving Underground
04/18 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium (Upstairs)
04/19 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Brooklyn Monarch
04/20 – Reading, PA @ Reverb
04/21 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
04/23 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
04/24 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
04/25 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
04/26 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
04/27 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz
04/29 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Varsity Theater
05/01 – Corpus Christi, TX @ House of Rock
05/03 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th St. Collective
05/04 – Austin, TX @ Come and Take It Live
05/05 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
05/07 – Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theater
05/08 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater
05/09 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
05/10 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
05/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ 1720
05/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
05/14 – Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom
05/15 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
05/17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
05/18 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
05/20 – St. Lous, MO @ Red Flag
05/21 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
05/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
05/23 – Davenport, IA @ Capitol Theater
05/24 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II
05/25 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
05/26 – Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
Ticket info here.
More from Extortionist:
Band names go a long way in helping paint a figurative picture in the listener’s mind of what to expect before one ever hits “play.” When it comes to Extortionist, you think crime—you think gritty, raw, merciless and unsavory and maybe, just maybe, a little sprinkling of suaveness. When it comes to the Pacific Northwest’s resident moshslingers, those premonitions from their name are exactly what you get. As a band who have proven themselves exemplary at styles of heavy music ranging from downtempo deathcore to grunge-tinted metal, Extortionist are more than just a jack-of-all-trades; they’re masters. Utilizing bold, roaring guitars overtop crushing, steamrolling percussion and vocals that run the gamut from guttural to grating, pitched singing and topped off with—you guessed it—a now-infamous dodgeball-smack snare, Extortionist have proven that not only are they incredible at what they do, they’re a band that the heavy scene just can’t go without.
Emerging from the relatively understated pastures and prairies of Coeur d’Alene in early 2013, to say Extortionist have been on a journey since their inception would be an understatement. With “The Black Sheep” instantly earning them notoriety with its combination of feral grooves and eviscerating breakdowns, Extortionist proved themselves early on as prodigal masters of all things punishingly heavy. As the band grew and gained more experience on the road in light of the success of their debut EP, their style and dynamic grew as well. After nearly four years of touring and writing, Extortionist would unleash The Decline in 2017, a band that saw their breed of brutalizing deathcore hybridized with riff-heavy metalcore and more introspective lyrics that tackled suicidal ideation and substance abuse. The Decline was met with immense critical praise and continued to open up larger opportunities for the Northwestern act, ultimately earning them multiple co-headlining tours from coast to coast, and a spot on Stay Sick Records, alongside other up-and-coming heavyweights like SPITE and Bodysnatcher. Barely a year and a half after their signing, the band announced their sophomore full-length release, Sever the Cord, which saw them experimenting with the inclusion of grunge and alternative influences, adding even more depth and grit to their dynamic. Their sophomore album earned them not only critical acclaim, but nationwide tours alongside The Browning, Betraying the Martyrs, Lorna Shore and First Blood. Sever the Cord was followed shortly thereafter by an eponymous EP which saw them diving deeper into a more exploratory realm of metalcore, colliding ferocious riffs into moments of warm, nostalgic melody. While their self-titled release was widely heralded as the band’s strongest work to date, was declared their Swan Song, as in the weeks that followed towards the back-end of Summer 2019, Extortionist announced their dissolution.
That isn’t the end of Extortionist’s story, however. As 2019 gave way into 2020 and the chaotic months that followed, the heavy music community felt the band’s absence all too strongly. In the early months of 2021, Extortionist announced their return with a series of shows in Spokane, Washington alongside AVOID and Seconds Ago as well as a new single, “Once More in Torment”. Once more highlighting the seamless blend of raunchy aggression and groove-heavy catchiness that only Extortionist can provide, the band’s comeback track is a strong reminder of just how missed they were throughout their nearly two-year absence. Frontman and founding member Benjamin Hoagland states “This is the best place we’ve ever been in as a band…Extortionist lives, and we’re here to stay.” Indeed, with a full-length record in the works and a ferocious return to live performance already underway, it would seem that Exortionist’s relative break was only a brief moment with which to collect themselves before reasserting their dominance over the contemporary metalcore scene. – Connor Welsh
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