New England extreme metal powerhouse, Escuela Grind, will release its new LP, Dreams On Algorithms, on October 18th via MNRK Heavy (High On Fire, Slomosa). Recorded at Salem, Massachusetts’ GodCity Studio with producer Kurt Ballou, and mastered by Nick Townsend (Dr. Dre, Betty Davis) the record is the follow-up to Escuela Grind’s 2022 full-length debut, Memory Theater. Pre-order / save Dreams On Algorithms at this location.
In advance of the release of Dreams On Algorithms, Escuela Grind will launch a North American headlining tour which will kick off on October 8th in Omaha, NE. The 16-city trek will feature support from Bodybox and Wisdom & War. Tickets for all dates will go on sale Friday, August 30th at 9 AM local time. The full itinerary is as follows:
October
8 – Omaha, NE – Reverb
9 – Denver, CO – Moe’s
10 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
11 – Las Vegas, NV – Sinwave
12 – Ontario, CA – Glen Helen Amphitheater (as part of Mayhem Festival)
13 – Atadadero, CA – Dark Nectar
16 – Portland, OR – Dante’s
17 – Seattle, WA – Vera Project
18 – Spokane, WA – The Big Dipper
19 – Boise, ID – The Shredder
22 – Des Moines, IA – Lefty’s Live
23 – Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade
24 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
25 – Detroit, MI – Sanctuary
26 – Toronto, ON – Hard Luck
27 – Montreal, QC – Caberet Foufounes
Escuela Grind just released a video for their new single, “Concept Of God”, directed by Seby X Martinez for Negative Kitty (Body Count, [adult swim]). Speaking on the track, the band offers, “‘Concept Of God’ is about the chaos that ensues when humans come together; the good and bad things that happen when opposites and like-minded individuals attract. The main lyrics in the song are, ‘The concept of god only exists because of people.'”
Speaking about the album title, Dreams On Algorithms, vocalist Katerina Economou says, “We wanted to write an album that identifies what it’s like to consume in this era we live in: what we receive through our phones, the social media landscape, and personalized algorithms, and how it is translated by our subconscious. I think most people can relate to something in their online sphere infecting their dreams. This transfer was something we really wanted to expand on, and all of the songs have themes relating to dream analysis and technology.”
Striking cover art by AC Tremblay foreshadows the inherent power and thematic investment contained in Dreams On Algorithms. “We have collaborated with the incredible AC Tremblay once more to create this vision of Dreams On Algorithms,” says the band. “We wanted a similar expression as our last album, but with a different color palette. The art of Kurt Seligmann, Bauhaus theater sets, Nightmare On Elm Street, Eiko Ishioka, and the Cremaster Cycle were source materials of inspiration for this visual storytelling. The amount of detail and attention that AC Tremblay pays to his drawing is what we love most about working with him. You’ll be able to find many Easter Eggs from the album’s lyrics within the artwork. We’re still finding new details.”
Tracklisting:
“DOA”
“Always Watching You”
“Constant Passenger”
“Moral Injury”
“Concept Of God”
“Animus Multiform”
“Scorpion”
“Planned Obsolescence”
“Toothless”
“Turbulence”
Dreams On Algorithms is also advanced by the single and video, “Turbulence”, which showcases clean vocals over an earworm chorus — a first for Escuela Grind — without pulling away from unhinged brutality.
“I had the idea for the ‘Turbulence’ title during a plane ride where I thought I was actually gonna die,” says Escuela Grind drummer Jesse Fuentes. “My mind was fixated on landing and playing the next show. It helped me cope, and then it kept happening on a couple of flights after that. My last in-person conversation with Napalm Death’s Shane Embury was very emotional; he suggested we add clean vocals after he overheard Katerina doing some clean singing on the tour bus (after shows, on our winter 2023 European tour with NxDx, everyone would sing along together. it really was magical). The vocal hook and melody on ‘Turbulence’ was created a day before vocals were to be recorded at GodCity. We took that airplane experience, and wrote some straightforward, but meaningful lyrics.”
“It will be immediately obvious when you first hear this song that it is a departure for us,” offers Economou. “We wanted to take a risk with ‘Turbulence’, and after performing so many live shows over the last year we were ready to compile all that influence. The clean singing may take some people off-guard coming from a grind/hardcore band, but after touring with Napalm Death, we realized we wanted to incorporate that aspect into our music in a similar way. We definitely wanted a grungy, catchy chorus to sing at all of our upcoming festival appearances, and I hope the fans like the song as much as we do.”
The first single released from Dreams On Algorithms is the ominous “Always Watching You”, a video for which can be enjoyed below.
“Most of ‘Always Watching You’ was written in a practice space by Jesse and Krissy, and refined during soundchecks we had over the year,” details Economou. “I’ve had this desire to write a song where I could portray the obsessive-stalker-girl archetype through lyrics for a while. Although not physically threatening, it’s really interesting that society is so terrified of this stereotype. In ‘Always Watching You’, I wanted this fantastical, Nightmare On Elm Street-style imagery that was rooted in the gore and horror of death metal. Themes of parasocial relationships, anxieties from social media, and an omnipresent algorithm are strongly observed in this song and throughout the entire album.”
For further details, visit Escuela Grind on Facebook.
(Photo: Paul Needham)