Sometimes it’s nice that the heaviest thing you encounter during the day isn’t the bane of your existence for a change, but something much more pleasant. Our lives in 2026 are filled to the brim and beyond with the craziest fucking bullshit imaginable, hence it is obviously welcome to just loosen the grip every once in a while and let something take you elsewhere entirely, even if for just a moment. Today, I’m glad to bring you exactly what the doc ordered.
Today’s dose of pulverizing noise sludge barrage is provided to you by Durham’s MAKE, with whom we are bringing you the new, aptly titled video single “The Judge”. The quartet are releasing their long-awaited fourth album Exegesis At The End Of Time via Accident Prone Records on June 12, “The Judge” being the second advance cut from the release, further solidifying the fact that they are indeed back in business with a massively violent blow, ten years after their previous full-length. So, without further ado, hold on tight and hit play from below;
I’ve been called a lot of things during my life and while some are undoubtedly true, being a liar isn’t one of them. As soon as you hit that play button above, what you probably experienced was a standstill second followed up with quite the tasty gut punch. MAKE aren’t here to fuck around, but you and I surely are doing a lot of finding out during “The Judge”. Psychedelic visuals and acutely pummeling sonics nearing grating levels of rage have rarely felt as fitting of an escape from the day to day as they do here. We got some quotes for you as well, starting with the video artist Kellen Smith;
‘What should a MAKE video look like? Neither the band nor I wanted to make something that heavily featured the band, but I did want a way to have a grimy, distorted, ethereal version of the band represented. With the daily invasion of AI slop in to every moment of our lives, we took the band as it exists, used a couple of lights, a camcorder, and a pile of analog video gear and CRTs to create a space that was a dreamy antithesis of the modern world.‘
And the band continues to put us into our place;
‘On top of the human propensity for brutality, I think Judge Holden [from Blood Meridian] represents that same aspect of the universe writ large and how we experience it as humans. No matter how devastating the circumstances, how many deaths, how much hardship exists, the uncaring universe keeps on dancing.‘
As much is true, that the universe doesn’t care about you. There is plenty of comfort found in that sentiment, even if delivered to us through a wall of cacophony masquerading as music. MAKE are able to do something that plenty of their peers fail at and fall pale before, and I’m all about that signature dish cooked up of abrasive tones that make the decibel meter blink red stroboscopically and the rough and obese grooves that match a ship capsizing in scope. The unfiltered anger here is very much palpable, and very much appreciated.
MAKE returning with new music has been a welcome turn of events, and I know I’m extremely eagerly waiting to be able to dig deep into what Exegesis At The End Of Time has to offer. You can join me in that excitement and secure a pre-order through Bandcamp or the label’s store.
Oh, and fuck AI.
Promo photo by Kevin Clark
