Zegema Beach have a history of unveiling raw, honest, straight-from-the-heart metal and hardcore music that pretty much always deserves your attention. That said, today’s premiere features no exception to that trend. We are excited to unveil the return of In Loving Memory, a little over two decades after a dissolve in 2001, with their new EP – A Gentler Sun! Strap in, this one’s going to be a rollercoaster…
(For optimal experience, be sure to click ‘play‘ on the above embed before reading further!)
First off – ditch the coffee, energy drinks, or whatever casual means of stimulation you typically swear by on your way into the office. This EP is going to amp you up far beyond what any measure of caffeination could ever do. The 4-track tidal wave hits everything you could ever ask of a good emoviolence record. Blazing drums, heavy, chaotic guitar riffs, and absolutely commanding, shrill, visceral vocals; The EP practically speaks for itself in the way of going straight to the point.
‘A Gentler Sun was a bit of a surprise to us, honestly. We knew when we first met up in December of 2022 to try playing the original material that we’d probably have our work cut out for us. We hadn’t played together in well over 20 years, and in some cases, members hadn’t really even used their original instruments from the early days of ILM. We all individually did our best to brush up on our parts and got to the practice space ready to see where things would take us. The songs came back to us quickly and with relative ease, and we were all blown away! After a weekend of fun and nostalgia, playing this old material and being in the same room together so many years after having broken up, we parted ways and went back home, but I don’t think anyone really wanted to leave it at that.‘
Despite the abrasive, chaotic nature of their atmosphere, the songs flow and mesh together beautifully. The execution certainly spells out the traces of a band that is genuinely having fun together and writing in a formality that highlights awesome levels of chemistry amongst the members. The EP begins on a note that is upbeat and pit-opening as soon as the first chords begin to hit. The tracks that follow present a more melodic tone of sorts, with intros that remind me of some of the instrumentals of bands like mewithoutYou, but with no punches pulled whatsoever in the realm of in-your-face emotive hardcore flair. Once more, the cohesion of this group is as apparent as can be.
‘Tanner, Joe and Jordan started sending some new riffs into the group chat here and there that they were writing that kind of fit the style of our original material, and to our surprise, structure started to rise from those riffs. Spencer would overdub drums on some riffs, or Joe would go through and put bass over the songs, and once the time came for our next practice session, “A Gentler Sun” and “Crawling to Falling” were all but ready to go, even though we hadn’t actually played them in the same room together. “In My Name” and “Great Day that Dawns” were written organically during a following practice session, and we set a date to get in the studio!‘
It is without a doubt that In Loving Memory‘s return will scratch the itch of nostalgia for those that reminisce upon the days of late ’90s and early 2000s mathcore/hardcore/emoviolence, but will also simultaneously provide a breath of fresh air for those looking for something with a distinct, effective edge to its flavor. In Loving Memory began the building blocks in 1998 for something monumental in metal music – and here, now, in 2023; It has manifested into one hell of an audible experience.
‘Lyrically we’ve always been kind of avant garde, drawing from different sources, bits of poetry or snippets from lines from TV shows or books that we’re reading. Really we just kind of keep an ear to the ground for things that sound good and try to incorporate that along with original poetry, lines or bits and pieces that come to us as you hear the music, etc. When talking about what we like lyrically or what kinds of concepts may be fun to touch on, Spencer offered a poem from his friend Thomas Cooney entitled A Gentler Sun. The full work is dense with imagery of humanity’s disregard for our natural habitat, specifically pointing to deforestation, leaving desolate landscapes to be scorched by an ever hotter burning sun.‘
Like what you heard? Good! Now go and grab it when it drops this Friday, July 21st, on Zegema Beach Records! You can pick it up via the In Loving Memory Bandcamp! Be sure to also follow the band on their Instagram to keep up with all the loving memories they’ll be making in 2023 and beyond…which includes a hometown show on September 9th! Go and get them lovely memories, all you avid music listeners, you!
