Meek Is Murder has completed the tracking of fourth full-length album Was, with producer Kurt Ballou (Converge, Nails) at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts.
Was is set for a July 15 release.
Meek Is Murder has cemented itself as one of the leaders of Brooklyn’s heavy scene, its sound bridging the short attention span grind of Pig Destroyer or Graf Orlock, with the soulful, end-of-the-world noise-core of bands like Botch. In describing the vibe of the new music, drummer Frank Godla references Meek’s past releases, hinting that Was possesses “the punk nerve of the Onward EP and the grotesque chops of Everything Is Awesome Nothing Matters.”
Mastering will be handled by Alan Douches (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Tombs) – the team of Ballou and Douches is the same team that has recorded all of Meek Is Murder’s albums. Says Godla: “Kurt Ballou and Alan Douches are masters of their craft, and truly understand the amount of grime appeal we look for in records. Since our debut album, Algorithms, we decided that these two would handle all our full length recordings. We think of them as friends, and companions to our band. So when we started writing Was, naturally the next step was to get in touch with Kurt and Alan, there was never a question or conversation about it.”
Guitarist/vocalist Mike Keller says the album deals with time, memory, and the processing of experiences – not so surprising from a band with a Back to the Future fixation: “Typical humans, we think about the past a lot. We romanticize it to reconcile a disappointing present. We re-write history so it reads the way we wish it went. We black it out when it’s just too much. And worst of all, we forget. It’s a struggle to appreciate the good things or recognize the negative ones at the time they occur.”
Meek Is Murder heads to Europe for a full European tour, concluding with a slot on the mighty Temples Festival in the UK. Summer will see the band play One Fest in Ithaca, New York, along with more dates to be announced soon.
May 20 – Brighton, UK @ Cowley Club w/ Svalbard
May 21 – London, UK @ The Dome w/ Svalbard
May 22 – Capelle aan den Ijsell, NL @ Capsloc w/ Svalbard
May 24 – Dresden, DE @ MI6 w/ Svalbard
May 25 – Innsbruck, AT @ PMK w/ Svalbard
May 26 – Vienna, AT @ Venster 99 w/ Svalbard
May 27 – Budapest, HU @ Durerkert w/ Svalbard
May 28 – Graz, AT @ Sub w/ Svalbard
May 29 – Zagreb, HR @ AKC Attack w/ Svalbard
May 30 – Milan, IT @ Casa Occupata Gorizia w/ Svalbard
May 31 – Geneva, CH @ La Makhno w/ Svalbard
Jun 1 – Paris, FR @ Le Buzz w/ Svalbard
Jun 2 – Basingstoke, UK @ Sanctuary w/ Svalbard
Jun 4 – Bristol, UK @ Temples Festival w/ Melvins, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, All Pigs Must Die
Jul 2 – Ithaca, NY @ One Fest w/ Dragged Into Sunlight, Primitive Man, Cult Leader