Heute präsentieren METZ das Video zur zweiten Single von „Atlas Vending“, „Hail Taxi“. Wenn es die aktuelle Mission von METZ ist, die unvermeidlichen Kämpfe des Erwachsenseins widerzuspiegeln, dann haben sie es erfolgreich geschafft, die konfliktreiche Beziehung zwischen Rebellion und Ausgelassenheit mit der Taktik des Liedes anzuzapfen, ihren charakteristischen Bombast mit hymnischen melodischen Auflösungen zu kompensieren.
„Hail Taxi is about looking back. The lyrics deal with the idea of reconciling or coming to terms with who you were and who you've become,” teilt uns Frontmann Alex Edkins mit. Das atemberaubende Video unter der Regie von A.F. Cortes vertieft diese Themen und fängt gekonnt die gleiche Intensität ein wie die abwechselnd brutalen Strophen und betörenden Refrains von Hail Taxi.
Über das Video sagt Cortes: „I wanted to tell a simple story that captures the song’s overarching theme. The idea of longing for the past creates many visual motifs and I wanted to create a piece that feels timeless and conveys a sense of isolation, highlighting that while we can hide our feelings, we can’t run from them.”
„Atlas Vending“, das dynamischste, und fesselndste Werk ihrer Karriere, wird am 9. Oktober 2020 veröffentlicht. Durch die Mitarbeit des Koproduzenten Ben Greenberg (UNIFORM) und die Ingenieurs- und Mixing-Fähigkeiten von Seth Manchester (DAUGHTERS, LINGUA IGNOTA, THE BODY) im Studio „Machines with Magnets“ in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, klingt „Atlas Vending“, in voller Länge massiv, wortgewandt und aufrichtig!
„Change is inevitable if you’re lucky,” says guitarist/vocalist Alex Edkins while talking about „Atlas Vending“, the fourth full-length album by Toronto’s METZ. „Our goal is to remain in flux, to
grow in a natural and gradual way. We’ve always been wary to not overthink or intellectualize the music we love but also not satisfied until we’ve accomplished something that pushes us forward.”
The music made by Edkins and his compatriots Hayden Menzies (drums) and Chris Slorach (bass) has always been a little difficult to pin down. Their earliest recordings contained nods to the
teeming energy of early ‘90s DIY hardcore, the aggravated angularities of THIS HEAT, and the noisy riffing of AmRep’s quintessential guitar manglers, but there was never a moment where METZ
sounded like they were paying tribute to the heroes of their youth. If anything, the sonic trajectory of their albums captured the journey of a band shedding influences and digging deeper into
their fundamental core—steady propulsive drums, chest-thumping bass lines, bloody-fingered guitar riffs, the howling angst of our fading innocence. With „Atlas Vending“, METZ not only continues
to push their music into new territories of dynamics, crooked melodies, and sweat-drenched rhythms, they explore the theme of growing up and maturing within a format typically suspended in
youth.
Covering seemingly disparate themes such as paternity, crushing social anxiety, addiction, isolation, media-induced paranoia, and the restless urge to leave everything behind, each of „Atlas
Vending“’s ten songs offers a snapshot of today's modern condition and together form a musical and narrative whole.
While past METZ albums thrived on an abrasive relentlessness, the trio embarked on „Atlas Vending“ rather than a few exhilarating bludgeonings. It’s as if the band realized they were in it for
the long haul, and their music could serve as a constant as they navigated life’s trials and tribulations. The result is a record that sounds massive, articulate, and earnest.
