Harm’s Way has unleashed their new single and video “Undertow”. Directed by Finn O’Connell, and featuring Kristina Esfandiari (King Woman), the track comes from their new album Common Suffering, which is set for release on September 29th through Metal Blade Records. Check out the video and more below.
Pre-order Common Suffering here.
*Digital, CD, and vinyl formats
Of the single, the band reveals, ““Undertow” looks at the cycle of life and death, and one’s process of coming to a space of acceptance with the latter. While we can argue that self-preservation is inherently human, finding peace in death and dying brings us that much closer to humility and our shared humanity.”
The album beams with incredibly memorable riffs, breakdowns, and impeccable songwriting. The title is a clear nod to the collective experiences of the past three years of chaos, misanthropy, paranoia, disorder, confusion and anxiety, with the band exploring themes ranging from personal struggles with mental health, relationships, political upheaval, corruption, and political power.
This time around, Harm’s Way shifted to recording at Studio 4 in Pennsylvania with producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Code Orange). Going into the recording, the goal was to improve some of the band’s processes, examine vocal cadences and experiment during production to gain the best idea from each track. The first change dealt with refocusing members on their specific wheelhouses. While vocalist James Pligge had previously assisted with riffs, on this effort, his main objective was to ensure the perfect vocal attack– leaning into Yip for advice and letting the remainder of the band take the wheel with their respective parts.
This Fall the band hit the road for a month-long North American tour which routes them through the Midwest, Texas, both coasts and more. Fleshwater, Ingrown and Jivebomb are set as support. See below for a full list of dates.
Sep 22: Hold Your Ground Fest – Mississauga, ON
Oct 18: X-Ray Arcade – Milwaukee, WI (SOLD OUT)
Oct 19: Blueberry Hill – St. Louis, MO
Oct 20: Portal – Louisville, KY
Oct 21: Ace of Cups – Columbus, OH
Oct 22: Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
Oct 24: Preserving Underground – Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 25: Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON
Oct 27: Monarch – Brooklyn, NY
Oct 28: Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
Oct 29: First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA
Oct 30: Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Oct 31: Canal Club- Richmond, VA
Nov 01: Masquerade – Hell – Atlanta, GA
Nov 03: Studio at The Factory – Dallas, TX
Nov 04: Mohawk – Austin, TX
Nov 05: Warehouse Live Studio – Houston, TX
Nov 07: The Nile – Phoenix, AZ
Nov 08: Eagle Aerie Hall – Las Vegas, NV
Nov 09: 1720 – Los Angeles, CA
Nov 10: Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA
Nov 11: 924 Gilman Street – Berkeley, CA (SOLD OUT)
Nov 12: Goldfield Trading Post – Sacramento, CA
Nov 14: Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 15: Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
Nov 16: RecordBar – Kansas City, MO
Get tickets here.
More about Harm’s Way:
For nearly two decades, Harm’s Way has evolved from whispered underground favorites to favorite sons with an arsenal of songs that helped shape heavy music’s trajectory – creating a roadmap for legions interested in “reinventing” themselves. Harm’s Way has never stayed complacent and constantly morphed shape– absorbing and reapplying influences in new and creative ways to create some of the most well-executed songs in hardcore punk and metal.
Despite Harm’s Way’s reputation for unrelenting ferocity, Common Suffering surprises at several turns with quieter moments of intricate songwriting that emphasizes light and shade. It’s their understanding of how to effectively orchestrate these dynamics that makes their latest feel infinitely more merciless. This is Harm’s Way at their best – the ambitious sound of a band traversing new ideas and succeeding with their strongest and most fully-realized effort to date.
As masterful and impressive as Common Suffering is, the precision-guided cluster bombs that make up the album are just ten more reasons for Harm’s Way fans to queue up to see one of the best and most vicious live shows on the planet. There, amongst the wide smiles, flailing arms and bodies pinballing off of the edges of the pit, is where the world will see just how singular and uncommon the new effort is.
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