Kansas City thrash veterans Hellevate have been watching the AI gold rush for years, and they finally put their rage on tape. They have released the official video for “Killicon Valley (Silicon Dust),” the title track from their sixth album, Killicon Valley, due May 22nd. Watch it and pre-order the record below.
Pre-order the album at hellevate.bandcamp.com/album/
The song runs five-plus minutes of relentless thrash directly at AI culture, and neither the music nor the message leaves much room to breathe.
Guitarist Joshua Cole explains the angle: “So many songs out there about AI have their hearts in the right place, but they always sing about it like it’s Skynet or SHODAN; some unstoppable robot overlord coming to bring the apocalypse. Then you actually use it, and it’s a crappy productivity tool that only helps create more noise and BS that we all have to wade through, all because some idiot billionaires decided they liked the idea of a computer that could do all their thinking for them and replace those pesky employees. The lyrics fit the music perfectly, as it’s nasty, aggressive, relentless, and fast!”
Vocalist Robert Browne goes further: “The so-called ‘leaders’ of the tech industry have made shit more expensive, turned a multitude of careers upside-down, and gotten this moronic presidential administration to give them access to sensitive systems. And for what? It fucks up simple tasks. It fills our news feeds with garbage and lies. It gives mediocre idiots with no skill the delusions that they can make art with no effort, all at the cost of the planet that sustains our lives. Older folks who fear AI think it’ll be like a Terminator 2 thing. It’s much worse; I’d rather be blown up than starve.”
Killicon Valley is eleven tracks of the band’s bullshit-free, thrash-or-be-thrashed attitude, sharpened by nearly two decades of existence. It follows 2023’s The Purpose Is Cruelty and sits alongside a back catalogue that includes their 2012 self-titled debut, Kill Confirmed (2014), and Weapons Against Their Will (2016). Along the way, the band has shared stages with Exodus, Kreator, Accept, Overkill, Destruction, Hammerfall, Unleash the Archers, Ghoul, Venom Inc., and Danzig.
Hellevate marks the release with an album release show at Warehouse on Broadway in Kansas City, MO, with support from Jackson Country 5, Meat Shank, and Bloodscent.
Line-Up:
Robert Browne – Vocals
Dan Whitmer – Guitar
Joshua Cole – Guitar
Zack Burke – Bass
Ruben Lopez – Drums
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