KEN MODE IS BACK WITH MORE CORROSIVE EMOTION THAN EVER WITH NEW SINGLE ‘I CANNOT’
LISTEN HERE ON BANDCAMP, SPOTIFY!
Today, KEN mode reveal their latest single via Toronto’s Artoffact Records. Kicking off and closing out akin to a live show with heavy, well-placed feedback, ‘I Cannot’, is masterfully abrasive. Seamlessly blending together deep metal riffs, noise-rock vocals, and punk rock chaos, the new track is yet another showcase of this band’s astounding ability to blend genres effortlessly.
On the fresh new single, Jesse Matthewson (guitar/vocals) comments: “We were looking for something ignorantly furious with this one, and it shows in the riffs. Equal parts My War, 90’s metal core and some noise post rock. As much as everyone getting along would be nice, I don’t think I want to be on the same side as y’all in the end. Ya dig?”
LISTEN TO ‘I CANNOT’ HERE!
Last year, Canadian rock royalty KEN mode revealed their highly anticipated and critically acclaimed album, ‘Null’, via Toronto’s Artoffact Records. The band’s aural abrasion may be a quintessential statement of mental collapse and despair made sonic – a direct psychological reaction to the collective experience of the last two and a half years. Drawing from not only the noise and industrial sonics of the 80’s and 90’s ala Swans, Einsturzende Neubauten, or even a Nine Inch Nails, the band mixed in a decidedly more desperate tone to the already pointed metallic hardcore influenced “extreme noise rock” that has become their signature sound.
LISTEN TO ‘NULL’ HERE!
Produced by Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Unsane), Jesse Matthewson explains, “the album exposes the emotional core of combating mental illness when one’s fine-tuned coping and management mechanisms have been involuntarily stripped away, and they’re forced to navigate this intensely divided and miserable political climate through a global pandemic. The fury, fear, and confusion, followed by profound sadness and mourning, drags them down while it cuts and pummels, like they’re experiencing every one of their lowest moments over and over again.”
Leading up to the album’s release, KEN mode unveiled four singles off of ‘Null’, “Throw Your Phone In The River,” “Unresponsive“, “But They Respect My Tactics” and “A Love Letter“. Together they racked up over 150K streams and were added to 20 editorial playlists across Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Youtube Music and were featured on Exclaim! Magazine’s Eh List. KEN mode also made the October cover of Decibel Magazine and have seen coverage from premier media outlets such as Exclaim! Magazine, Flood Magazine, Idioteq, Distorted Sound Magazine, Brooklynvegan, Metal Injection, Metal Sucks, Montreal Rocks, Range Magazine, Revolver Magazine and more!
MORE ABOUT KEN MODE:
Ever wonder what KEN mode stands for? Look no further and wonder no more, because it’s a name that’s hard to forget the meaning behind once you get it. KEN mode = Kill Everyone Now mode: an ethos legendary Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins would use to describe the band’s state of mind while taking the stage for the endless touring cycle of their genre defying classic album ‘My War’. This proved to be the psychological foundation and attitude for the project Royal Conservatory of Music trained brothers Jesse Matthewson, B.Comm (Hons) and Shane Matthewson CA/CPA, B. Comm (Hons), would dedicate their entire adult lives to, seeing them spread a manic form of metal and hardcore infused noise rock across the globe.
Cutting their teeth in the early aughts, when chaotic hardcore was at its peak, KEN mode would find breakout underground notoriety with a quintet of critically acclaimed records in the 2010’s, working with a who’s who of metal and hardcore producers in Kurt Ballou (Converge) for their Venerable LP (2011), Matt Bayles (Botch, Isis) for Entrench (2013), Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Jesus Lizard) for Success (2015), and Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Cave In) for Loved (2018).
With two decades under their belts, the group have a list of impressive achievements including winning the inaugural Juno Award for Best Metal / Hard Rock Album of the Year for “Venerable” in 2012. Cutting their teeth in the early aughts, when chaotic hardcore was at its peak, KEN mode would find breakout underground notoriety with a quintet of critically acclaimed records in the 2010’s, working with a who’s who of metal and hardcore producers in Kurt Ballou (Converge) for their Venerable LP (2011), Matt Bayles (Botch, Isis) for Entrench (2013), Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Jesus Lizard) for Success (2015), and Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Cave In) for Loved (2018), all while maintaining an unrelenting tour schedule with such acts as Russian Circles, Torche, Deafheaven, Norma Jean, Kylesa, Pelican, Daughters, Revocation, Full of Hell, Inter Arma, Today is the Day, Birds In Row, and more; along with seeing them hit a multitude of major festivals like SXSW, Hellfest Open Air, CMJ Festival, Pitchfork Festival Chicago, Hopscotch Festival, and Roadburn Festival; and doing live sessions for renowned institutions such as BBC Radio 1 and Daytrotter.
KEN MODE ONLINE:
Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
ARTOFFACT RECORDS ONLINE:
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
