The video for VISCERA’s new single Merciless By Nature introduces Hunting Season, an album the UK quintet wrote with live performance in mind. The single is streaming now, while the band’s third full-length is due February 12th through Unique Leader Records. Album pre-orders are available in various formats.
VISCERA describe the single’s subject directly: ‘Misinformation, cancel culture and hedonism. This is about the dangers of tribalism. How it can become the driving force behind all we think and say, without thought for repercussions.’ Musically, the band compare parts of the track to their debut record, Obsidian, ‘but with a rawer edge.’
That concern with group behavior extends across the album. ‘The album’s central theme is fear and misinformation,’ VISCERA explain. The band connect fear, tribalism, social imbalance and violence, describing the title as a reference to how readily false information or an idea can sway the masses. Other songs address internal struggles to fit into a changing social ‘hive’ as identities become increasingly complex and fragile.
Shindy Reehal of Shindy Design created the artwork. Its hornet imagery represents the band’s description of a ‘Hivemind’ that can be antagonized into attacking anything nearby, regardless of intent. The announcement accompanies that concept with the line: ‘RUN FOR YOUR LIVES. NO ONE IS SAFE. HUNTING SEASON.’
The recording approach also follows the band’s emphasis on performance. Hunting Season was recorded at The Arch Studios, whose credits include Ingested and Dragged Into Sunlight, with Andy Mallaby (Osiah). Christian Donaldson (Despised Icon, Shadow Of Intent) mixed and mastered the record. VISCERA insisted on a large live room to capture that energy, with all vocal tracks recorded as single takes, straight up the middle. The announcement describes the ten songs as raw and organic, with a pronounced low end and heavy guitar tone.
‘We set out to make an album that would set the standard for what we want to build on with future offerings, one that would define our sound as a band,’ VISCERA state. They describe Hunting Season as their most complete record, with collective influences more prominent than on their previous two albums and an intention to move beyond subgenre restrictions.
Guests include Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), Matt Heafy (Trivium), Joe Bad (Fit for An Autopsy/Spitting Glass), Andreas Bjulver (Cabal) and Alan Grnja (Distant). The announcement’s prose also names Jon Robert Centorrino (Dirt Helmet, ex-Crystal Lake/TLTSOL); the supplied track listing credits the Moongazer guest as John Centorrino.
- Delilah II: The Eternal Flame
- In The Belly Of The Beast (feat. Jesse Leach)
- Horror Has a Face
- Death’s Kiss
- Killbox
- The Lie That Sets You Free (feat. Matt Heafy)
- Hivemind (feat. Joe Bad)
- Merciless By Nature
- Hunting Season (feat. Alan Grnja & Andreas Bjulver)
- Moongazer (feat. John Centorrino)
VISCERA formed in 2018 and feature members of Spitting Glass. Their previous touring includes appearances alongside Lorna Shore, Despised Icon, Decapitated, Ingested, Distant, Oceano and Cabal. The current lineup comprises Jamie Graham on vocals, Charlie Michael and Adam Bell on guitars, Chris Keepin on bass and Danny Yates on drums.
Album artwork: Shindy Reehal. Press photography: John Sugden at Reprieve Vision.
