Red Handed Denial, the Toronto-based band whose music Toilet ov Hell described as “prog djentyness, a dash of metalcore and a saturation of pure-f***ing-fun,” have set a May 24th, 2024, release date for their new studio album, “A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia” (Paid Vacation Records).
A preview of the 10-song album arrives today, with the release of “Parasite” and its Alex McFarland-directed video. The performance clip captures the raw emotion and hard-hitting essence of the foursome. Watch the video below.
Vocalist Lauren Babic shares the inspiration behind the track: “It’s about a person you can’t get rid of who feeds off your energy. Truthfully, these are my feelings about social media. If I could, I’d throw my phone into the ocean, because it truly sucks the life out of me. My connections to friends and family have suffered because of social media. ‘Parasite’ embodies my anger of wanting to watch it die”.
“‘A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia’ is a testament to my discontent with how reliant we became on technology during the Pandemic”, Babic continues. “We’re reaping the consequences. Mental health has severely suffered. When the world opened, a lot of us struggled and felt different. I feel different too. We get a false sense of security from platforms like TikTok and Instagram. We’re stuck in a cycle of little dopamine releases from every swipe, but we’re not content. When I get away from these apps, I find clarity”.
Babic’s comment is reflective of Red Handed Denial’s overall outlook, and output, as they’ve combined their blistering music with empathetic and emotional themes across their albums. With “A Journey Through Virtual Dystopia”, the band, working with col-producer Lee Abrecht (guitar player Chris Mifsud worked in tandem with Abrecht), expanded their sound, incorporating synthesizers and MIDI keyboards, while taking inspiration from likely and unlikely musicians as well as video game soundtracks.
Album pre-orders, including a purple/white swirl vinyl variant, CD and digital, are available here.
Tracklist:
1. Parasite
2. My Demise
3. One More Night
4. Falling Back To You
5. Driving Towards A Neon Sunset
6. Smokescreen
7. …and Then I Found Myself in a Virtual Dystopia
8. Eat Glass
9. I Hope You’re Happy
10. Home
Red Handed Denial join Unprocessed for a one-month North American tour this Spring. Tickets for all dates on-sale now.
North American Tour Dates 2024:
April 4 Chicago, IL Cobra Lounge (Sold Out)
April 5 Lakewood, OH Mahall’s
April 6 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground
April 7 Montreal, QC Café Campus
April 9 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Philadelphia
April 10 Cambridge, MA Sonia Live
April 11 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Made
April 12 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java (Sold Out)
April 13 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle (Sold Out)
April 15 Orlando, FL Will’s Pub
April 16 Atlanta, GA Purgatory at The Masquerade
April 17 Nashville, TN The End
April 19 Dallas, TX Trees
April 20 Houston, TX The Secret Group
April 21 Austin, TX Spiderhouse Ballroom
April 23 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
April 24 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
April 25 Boise, ID The Shredder
April 26 Portland, OR McMenamins
April 27 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
April 28 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
April 30 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
May 1 San Francisco, CA Neck of the Woods
May 2 Fresno, CA Strummer’s
May 3 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy Theatre
May 4 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction
The Toronto-based band has released three albums to date: “Stories of Old” [2013], “Redeemer” [2019], and “I’d Rather Be Asleep” [2022]. The latter yielded the fan favorite “Father Said”, cracking 1 million Spotify streams and counting. On the road, the group performed alongside the likes of Trivium, Protest The Hero, The Contortionist, Silent Planet, and more. Dead Rhetoric dubbed the band a “powerhouse”, and Canadian Beats said “every song feels like an anthem”.
Line-up:
Lauren Babic – Vocals
Tyson Dang – Drums
Chris Mifsud – Guitar
Dominick De Kauwe – Bass
