Chula Vista’s cross-over thrashers, Take Offense, have shared news that their fourth album, T.O.tality (the band’s debut for MNRK Heavy), will arrive on May 10th. Hand-in-hand with this announcement, they have also dropped the long-player’s opening track and lead single “Greetings From Below.” Keep reading in this article to check it out and find out more from Take Offense.
Pre-order T.O.tality here.
“Greetings From Below” “touches on certain Mexican beliefs of our underworlds,” reveals vocalist Anthony Herrera. “It’s believed these are places we go to when we die, but also when we go to sleep, in our dreams and nightmares. Our underworlds also correlate to our waking state as well and we usually experience them in the form of troubles or obstacles we face in our everyday life.”
Take Offense look toward the tone and attitude of their California counterparts– bands like Excel and Suicidal Tendencies who also leaned heavily into skate aesthetics but worshipped Sunset Strip-and-adjacent guitar dieties like Warren Di Martini and Eddie Van Halen. T.O.tality is a love letter to that scene and those times, delivered in the form of an armada of fourteen nitro-equipped tracks that explode through barricades of genre convention, emptying the clip with fresh ideas. It’s a tribute to local heroes with familiar approaches that are wholly and undoubtedly Take Offense.
Much like previous recordings, tracking for T.O.tality took place with Nick Jett (Terror) and the band serving as producers. But conflicting schedules between Herrera, guitarist Greg Cerwonka, bassist Randy Noyes, drummer Mitch Reitman and rhythm guitarist Ricky Garcia caused the recording of the much anticipated follow-up to Cause & Effect to be drawn out. Writing commenced in Summer 2021 and tracking was completed in June 2023, with Matt Hyde (Slayer, No Doubt, Deftones) handling the mixing and Nick Townsend on mastering duty. “We’re incredibly proud of the record, and feel like it really represents who we are and where we’re from. But it was really a strenuous one to make and at points it felt like we might not get it done,” admits Greg. There were scheduling issues and complications around the pandemic, and on top of that Greg played in the live lineup of Turnstile for a while, so that added another layer. Regardless of all that, T.O.tality is here, and a big step forward.
And while only a cursory listen is needed to know that T.O.tality is a massive evolutionary step forward for the band, a detailed listen reveals the attention given with respect to lyricism and storytelling by Herrera. Familiar lyrical themes from previous releases still ring true, but Herrera also called upon his own upbringing to add in themes surrounding existentialism, politics, soldiering forward and leaving regret behind. “I feel like I didn’t hold back on things I wanted to say. It’s even in the title of the record– totality,” admits Herrera. “Certain tracks on the record have references to Mexica, which are beliefs that go back to early Mexico– something that I grew up with. When I was younger, I don’t think it was as easy for me to express certain things into words. I think things come easier now and I feel like I put it all out there. So I’m very proud to be at this point– I feel like we are stronger than ever, and with the new record we are the best version of who we are.”
T.O.tality tracklisting:
01 – Greetings From Below
02 – S.W.O.
03 – T.O.tality
04 – If I’m Damned, So Be It
05 – Assassination
06 – Uncivilized Animals
07 – Now Or Never
08 – Deep Inside/House Of Shadows
09 – No Mans Land (Instrumental)
10 – Stolen Land
11 – Until Then
12 – Beyond Flesh And Bone
13 – Give’m Chaos
14 – The Prayer
Take Offense Live Dates:
Mar 10: Los Angles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
Mar 12: San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
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