Red Handed Denial, the Toronto-based band have set a May 24th, 2024 release date for their new album, A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia (Paid Vacation Records). The band has shared a new video for their single “Parasite!” Pre-orders are live at the links below!

 

A preview of the 10-song album arrives today, with the release of “Parasite” and its Alex McFarland-directed video (https://redhandeddenial.ffm.to/parasite). The performance clip captures the raw emotion and hard-hitting essence of the foursome.

Vocalist Lauren Babic shares the inspiration behind the track: ““It’s about a person you can’t get rid of who feeds off your energy. Truthfully, these are my feelings about social media. If I could, I’d throw my phone into the ocean, because it truly sucks the life out of me. My connections to friends and family have suffered because of social media. ‘Parasite’ embodies my anger of wanting to watch it die.”

“A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia is a testament to my discontent with how reliant we became on technology during the Pandemic,” Babic continues. “We’re reaping the consequences. Mental health has severely suffered. When the world opened, a lot of us struggled and felt different. I feel different too. We get a false sense of security from platforms like TikTok and Instagram. We’re stuck in a cycle of little dopamine releases from every swipe, but we’re not content. When I get away from these apps, I find clarity.”

Babic’s comment is reflective of Red Handed Denial’s overall outlook, and output, as they’ve combined their blistering music with empathetic and emotional themes across their albums. With A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia, the band, working with col-producer Lee Abrecht (guitar player Chris Mifsud worked in tandem with Abrecht), expanded their sound, incorporating synthesizers and MIDI keyboards, while taking inspiration from likely and unlikely musicians as well as video game soundtracks.

Album pre-orders, including a purple/white swirl vinyl variant, CD and digital, are available now: https://boketomedia.com/collections/red-handed-denial.

Red Handed Denial join Unprocessed for a one-month North American tour this Spring. Tickets for all dates on-sale now.

Tour dates (w/Unprocessed):

April 4 Chicago, IL Cobra Lounge SOLD OUT

April 5 Lakewood, OH Mahall’s

April 6 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground

April 7 Montreal, QC Café Campus

April 9 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Philadelphia

April 10 Cambridge, MA Sonia Live

April 11 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Made

April 12 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java SOLD OUT

April 13 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle SOLD OUT

April 15 Orlando, FL Will’s Pub

April 16 Atlanta, GA Purgatory at The Masquerade

April 17 Nashville, TN The End

April 19 Dallas, TX Trees

April 20 Houston, TX The Secret Group

April 21 Austin, TX Spiderhouse Ballroom

April 23 Denver, CO Marquis Theater

April 24 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court

April 25 Boise, ID The Shredder

April 26 Portland, OR McMenamins

April 27 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret

April 28 Seattle, WA Chop Suey

April 30 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s

May 1 San Francisco, CA Neck of the Woods

May 2 Fresno, CA Strummer’s

May 3 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy Theatre

May 4 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction

A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia album cover

A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia tracklist:

1. Parasite
2. My Demise
3. One More Night
4. Falling Back To You
5. Driving Towards A Neon Sunset
6. Smokescreen
7. …and Then I Found Myself in a Virtual Dystopia
8. Eat Glass
9. I Hope You’re Happy
10. Home

Photo credit: Jacqueline Silva

Red Handed Denial is Lauren Babic [vocals], Tyson Dang [drums], Chris Mifsud [guitar], and Dominick De Kauwe [bass]. The Toronto-based band has released three albums to date: Stories of Old [2013], Redeemer [2019], and I’d Rather Be Asleep [2022]. The latter yielded the fan favorite “Father Said,” cracking 1 million Spotify streams and counting. On the road, the group performed alongside the likes of Trivium, Protest The Hero, The Contortionist, Silent Planet, and more. Dead Rhetoric dubbed the band a “powerhouse,” and Canadian Beats said “every song feels like an anthem.”

 

Follow Red Handed Denial:
YouTube.com/@rhdband
Facebook.com/rhdband
Instagram.com/rhdband
Twitter.com/rhdband