WALLS OF JERICHO have released "Agency", the second single from "System Error: Humanity", due November 13 via Napalm Records.
It follows "The Ascent", which drew praise for its breakdowns, and takes a different route to the same destination: "Agency" opens at full speed in something close to thrash territory before dropping into a breakdown the label describes, not unreasonably, as tectonic.
Candace Buckingham keeps the lyric direct. "'Agency' is a song about freedom," she said. "The kind that lives within you, the kind no one can take away, and the kind you have to fight for every single day."
That reading runs through the whole record. Buckingham has described "System Error: Humanity" as "a rebellion against the modern forces that fracture identity: comparison, conformity, distraction, and the endless pressure to perform instead of live," and framed the album as being about "reclaiming your attention, owning your choices, and becoming who you were before the world told you who to be. Kill the noise. Reclaim yourself."
She also made clear the record was not chasing polish. "We set out to capture the chaos, intensity, and raw energy of our live show rather than chase perfection," she said — which makes the choice of producer look deliberate. Kurt Ballou, CONVERGE guitarist and the man behind records by NAILS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CODE ORANGE and EVERY TIME I DIE, is exactly who you hire when you want live ferocity captured rather than sanded down.
The guest list is short and well chosen. LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe appears on "Broken Mouths Can't Speak", trading attacks with Buckingham, and Guy Kozowyk of THE RED CHORD turns up on "Humanity". "A Brighter Fire" features Patsy Puopolo and Matthew Ruby.
"System Error: Humanity" track listing:
- True Til' Death
- Beginning
- The Flame
- The Ascent
- Broken Mouths Can't Speak (feat. Randy Blythe)
- Untouchable
- Rise
- Agency
- Unchained
- The End Before
- Humanity (feat. Guy Kozowyk)
- Borrowed Ground
- Last Judgement
- A Brighter Fire (feat. Patsy Puopolo and Matthew Ruby)
- The Reckoning
The Detroit band have been operating since the late nineties, with "The Bound Feed The Gagged" (1999) and "All Hail The Dead" (2004) establishing the template and "With Devils Amongst Us All", "The American Dream" and "No One Can Save You From Your Self" carrying it onto charts. Festival runs at Louder Than Life, Hellfest, Tied Down and Furnace Fest kept them present through the gap.