Nathaniel Shannon
From the first enraged scream that ignites Deadguy‘s long-awaited sophomore LP, this album is the kind of merciless chaos that’s been gone far too long. Overflowing with angular riffs, clashing guitars, fractured rhythms and gutter bass that no one does better, Deadguy have dug in deeper on Near-Death Travel Services— an album 30 years in the making.
Near-Death Travel Services [pre-order] is an inside joke, the band reflecting on touring and playing this kind of music when they’re ostensibly “past their prime.” However, Deadguy‘s forthcoming LP is as crucial and urgent as ever— as evidenced on the album’s newest single: “War With Strangers.”
A brief history of Deadguy: the New Jersey quartet of Crispy, Dave Rosenberg, Tim “Pops” Naumann and Tim Singer released an odd, sardonic, absolutely singular 7” called White Meat in 1994. That same year they enlisted guitar player Keith Huckins of groundbreaking NJ band Rorschach and unleashed a refined, even more vicious sound with their 7” Work Ethic. With only these six songs the band was already understood to be a menacing force in the emerging metalcore scene, both live and recorded, but it couldn’t have prepared anyone for what came next. They released the groundbreaking Fixation on a Coworker LP in 1995, an EP the following year then called it a day, making their entire storied existence only three years long.
A 2021 documentary, Killing Music, led to the reconciliation and live shows, but there was more that needed to be done. Geographical hurdles, families and adult life are enough to stifle anyone’s creative output, but over the next few years the band was able to create something, according to drummer Dave Rosenberg, “out of sheer force of will.”
Even though the band’s high standards led to a culling that left them with only the best tracks, they decided to get the opinion of a former co-conspirator. Enter Steve Evetts, the man behind the board during Fixation. Evetts knows what Deadguy should sound like, and by asking him to produce this new one they felt confident he’d keep the band from softening up or veering too far from what makes them so distinct.
Recorded in fits and starts over a matter of months, 11 songs made the cut to be mixed, mastered and aimed indiscriminately at an unsuspecting public under the banner of Near-Death Travel Services. Members, at once skeptical, were finally able to take in the whole thing and had the same opinion after digesting their creation: “We made a fucking Deadguy record.”
See Deadguy on the road this summer, including a collaborative event with New Noise Magazine and Rough Trade NYC; entry is just the cost of the new album + zine, as well as the option to snag an exclusive New Noise/Rough Trade event tote bag with the magazine cover on the back. Attendees will be able to hear an exclusive talk with the band moderated by Chris Enriquez of New Noise about their reunion + new album which will lead into a special live performance at Rough Trade Below.
Jun. 14 Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Monarch (Rich Hall Memorial Show – tix)
Jul. 12 Garwood, NJ — Crossroads (Record Release Show – tix)
Jul. 13 New York, NY — Rough Trade in-store (rsvp)
Aug. 23 Richmond, VA — The Warehouse (tix)
