Massachusetts old-school hardcore band DEATH RAY VISION — which features in its ranks KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D’Antonio — will release its third album, “No Mercy From Electric Eyes”, on June 30 via Metal Blade Records. The official music video for the song “From The Rafters” can be seen below.
Pre-order “No Mercy From Electric Eyes” HERE.
“When society breaks down and justice is no longer upheld, the kids will take to the streets in revolt,” says D’Antonio. “This is a song about injustice and rebellion — it does not pull any punches.”
Commencing writing in late 2018 following a tour with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, DEATH RAY VISION had a lot of creative momentum still burning following that year’s “Negative Mental Attitude” and kept it rolling. The results will demonstrate that they are playing at the top of their game.
“We’re a lot more cohesive as a band after playing together for so many years, and we’ve gotten better at songwriting and collaborating to bring out the best in everyone’s ideas,” says guitarist Pete Cortese.
A further new dimension affecting the sound is the addition of vocalist Keith Bennett to the band’s ranks, who the existing members knew would be the perfect fit from his time with notable acts WRECKING CREW, PANZERBASTARD (both of whom shared the stage with Cortese and D’Antonio‘s other band OVERCAST) and RAMALLAH.
“Keith brings a whole lot of piss and vinegar, with a side of street cred. He brought a new sense of enthusiasm and excitement and got us even more fired up to make a great record,” says Cortese. Guitarist Chris Rosati adds, “Creatively speaking, Keith is a force of nature. His ability to get inside a new song and quickly come up with vocals and lyrics is really something to witness.”
“No Mercy From Electric Eyes” Artwork
Lyrically, “No Mercy From Electric Eyes” is a more politically charged record than their previous releases. “It’s more pissed off, and anyone paying attention to the state of the world can understand why,” says Cortese. But it’s also deeply personal for Bennett. “Every word I’m singing is from the heart,” says the vocalist. “I should have been dead a few years ago, I’m here for a reason. These lyrics are a direct line to how I feel, how I live, what I see.”
“No Mercy From Electric Eyes” track listing:
1. Behead The King
2. In Unholy Water
3. From The Rafters
4. Reaper
5. Premature Evisceration
6. Praise The War Machine
7. Broken Hands Of God
8. An Iron Age
9. Armageddon Is The Answer
10. O Great Destroyer
11. Crawl Forth The Cowards
12. End Me
When it came to tracking, drummer Colin Conway laid down his parts at Mad Oak studio with longtime associate Benny Grotto, while everything else was recorded, engineered and produced by Rosati at his home studio, Mass Metal Studios.
The record is wrapped up with a title drawn from the lyrics of one of the tracks — Cortese pointing out that it makes perfect sense given their band name — and vivid artwork courtesy of D’Antonio, which according to the bassist stems from the idea “of ‘being under the thumb of an ethereal overlord.’ The fear of knowing the ‘master’ is watching your every move, from a short distance away. In this world, only obedience is accepted and absolutely no mercy is given to those who fail.”
Having poured so much of their hearts and souls into “No Mercy From Electric Eyes”, the band hopes to play the songs live as much as possible, and has aspirations of touring outside of the U.S. for the first time, but at the end of the day they are proud of what they have achieved and believe they are worth giving a damn about, because they give a damn about everything they do.
“We made a great record that doesn’t sound like many contemporary metal bands,” says Cortese. “It’s heavy as fuck without having to rely on drop Z tuning, and it’s a great balance of aggressive and melodic without sounding contrived.”
DEATH RAY VISION is:
- Keith Bennett / Vocals
- Chris Rosati / Guitar, vocals
- Pete Cortese / Guitar
- Mike D’Antonio / Bass
- Colin Conway / Drums
DEATH RAY VISION on tour:
- June 09 – Hampton Beach, NH – Casino Ballroom (w/ KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
- June 23 – Holyoke, MA – GatewayCity Arts (w/ TREE)
- June 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Kingsland (w/ TREE)
- June 25 – Providence, RI – Alchemy (w/ TREE)
- June 30 – Cambridge, MA – Sonia (record-release show w/ BURNING WIND, APOLLYON, GROTESQUERIES and KLAXON)
