Year Of The Knife have announced the details of their new album No Love Lost at a time you may not have expected them to. That’s because the band have had a year unlike any other. On June 28, the band were involved in a car accident. It affected and injured all four members of the band, but most affected was vocalist Madi Watkins. Breaking so many bones in her body and suffering a heavy brain injury, the last few months have been spent learning how to simply be again. Against all the odds, she has made huge steps towards recovering, from moving her limbs to being able to speak again. Though there is still a long way to go, it’s been an inspirational moment in the history of hardcore. It’s because of this that the band felt like they could put out this album as a symbol of what they have always been about.
So, No Love Lost will be released on October 27 via Pure Noise Records. It is 20 minutes long, and delivered over the course of nine tracks. So you know it will be no-holds-barred and brutal in every sense of what hardcore can be. This is proven through the two tracks that they have released from it. Those songs are “Wish” and “Last Laugh“. “Wish”, which features Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg, is 86 seconds of guttural devastation. Downtrodden and delirious, it is everything that Year Of The Knife represents with added death metal worship.
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And “Last Laugh”, featuring Dylan Walker of Full of Hell, channels the aural aggression of FOH with bile and brutality plastered across its lips. Both showcase different levels of dismemberment and delirium, holding nothing back. The levels they reach feel all the more poignant and powerful, knowing what the band are going through at this time.
Guitarist Brandon Watkins has shared this lengthy statement detailing what has been going on for them and what this record now means:
After three months, we’re finally gearing up to go home. We were in a terrible accident in Salt Lake City that left me concussed, Aaron with a broken femur and severed carotid artery, Andy with broken ankles, Madi breaking almost everything and a traumatic brain injury. It’s been a long, long road but every day brings new hope. Madi’s currently awake and alert, talking her head off and doing constant speech, physical and occupational therapy. Like I said, it’s challenging, but every day is better. We’re looking forward to finally going home.”
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“This record represents so many things for us. It’s Madi’s big debut, her second set of recordings and first ever LP singing for YOTK. In my opinion, she CRUSHES. It was super hard to come to the decision to release the record while she was still recovering. The record was originally supposed to start rolling out in July, but with everything that happened, we thought it best to wait. Now that Madi’s more aware of what’s going on I think she’ll be really excited. And we’re really excited to share this record with all of you. Our influences are all over the place for this record. This was the second time each of us wrote music for the record–like Dust to Dust where we each wrote a song, we all contributed. Madi even wrote a breakdown. It was an awesome experience learning how we each express ourselves musically. This is what I’ve got.”
