Now, Vexed are previewing the album with a disgustingly heavy lead single called ‘Anti-Fetish.’ Centering the devastating vocal attack of powerhouse frontwoman Megan Targett, the song channels the rap-inflected rampages of old-school Emmure, crossed with the djenty heaviness of bands like After the Burial and early Northlane.

“We wanted to start with a huge riff and a strong message,” the band said of the new single. “‘Anti-Fetish’ is us confronting the constant comparisons and ungrounded hate that bands receive. It’s become completely accepted in the scene to cross the line of constructive criticism and just dive bomb into hatred and prejudice. This song is us setting the record straight by calling out the blatant discrimination.” [via Revolver]

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‘Dagger Dragger’— the second single from a series of upcoming releases from Castle Rat — was recorded in a 150-year-old abandoned church at a secret location in Philadelphia, PA. The single, which serves as a follow-up to the band’s most recent release ‘Feed The Dream,’ was produced and engineered by Davis M. Shubs (Grave Bathers) with Thomas Johnsen (Thantophobe). The mixing process was entrusted to the wise and wizardly hands of Rafferty Jennings Swink (Evolfo) in Brooklyn, NY, and mastered by JJ Golden of Golden Mastering in Ventura, CA.

Speaking on the single, bandleader Riley Pinkerton writes: “‘Dagger Dragger’ narrates the tale of a skilled huntress of demons, beasts, and scoundrels, as she battles against a vengeful enchantment. Pursued by a mysterious Shadow Beast, the huntress pays the ultimate price for slaying the beloved henchman of a most powerful sorceress.”

The new track also comes alongside an accompanying music video, directed by Gabriel Duque. The video is described as such: “The Dagger Dragger — a huntress of demons, beasts, and scoundrels, faces a vengeful enchantment after slaying the beloved henchman of a powerful sorceress. Plagued by visions of a mysterious Shadow Beast, the Dagger Dragger hunts the beast through an archway of nameless ruins and into the corner of a mystical Realm, where nothing is as it seems.

“As she plunges her dagger into the heart of the Beast, she discovers it to be no beast at all, as the body of her Lover collapses into her arms. Overwhelmed by the blood on her hands and flashbacks to intimate moments between her and her Lover, she is driven to an act of desperation. She performs a forbidden resurrection ceremony to restore life to her Lover, at the risk of a most serious cost.

“Death Herself — The Rat Reaperess — is beckoned into the Realm by such a ceremony. In order to restore natural balance to the underworld, the Reaperess must claim the soul of another to replace the one stolen from her grasp. In her final battle, the Dagger Dragger pays for her Lover’s life with her own, as the Reaperess turns the huntress’ own famed blade upon her.”

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