BUTCHER BABIES Share Music Video For New Single 'Red Thunder'

BUTCHER BABIES have released the official music video for their new single, "Red Thunder", which explores the band's darker side by leaning into their thrash/djent roots with an explosive guitar solo. The clip was filmed at Cactus Joe's in Las Vegas, Nevada and was produced, directed and edited by BUTCHER BABIES co-vocalist Heidi Shepherd.

Along with the release of "Red Thunder" comes the announcement of BUTCHER BABIES' double album "Eye For An Eye..." and "…'Til The World's Blind" both due July 7 ("Red Thunder" will appear on "…'Til The World's Blind"). The double album celebrates the tenth anniversary of BUTCHER BABIES' critically acclaimed debut, "Goliath", released on July 9, 2013 via Century Media Records.

Discussing the new single's sound, Shepherd says: "'Red Thunder' is a massive nod to the style and sound of our beloved first album 'Goliath' that launched BUTCHER BABIES into the metal stratosphere exactly a decade ago. Bringing in the groovy, guttural, thrash elements that we became known for, alongside a soaring melodic chorus, 'Red Thunder' culminates the dark, painful, and emotional side of the band. The song was written to remind the world that when she speaks, she speaks in Thunder!"

Co-vocalist Carla Harvey lends insight into the inspiring and deeply personal meaning behind "Red Thunder": "At its core, 'Red Thunder' is a song about giving a voice to the voiceless. But not just any voice; a cry so powerful that it shakes those that have wronged them to their core. As Heidi and I were writing the lyrics, my personal inspiration became my sister, Julia, born with microcephaly. She died very young, and I did not get the chance to know her, but I have one haunting photo of her as a baby that I brought with me to the session as inspiration. In the photo she has one arm outstretched to the camera and these beautiful piercing eyes; my heart breaks that she didn't get to live a LIFE; but in my dreams, my father's daughter blooms…and speaks in thunder."

Of the writing process for "Red Thunder", guitarist Henry Flury says: "The opening riff was the first spark of inspiration when writing this song and it was also the first clip we introduced to the fans when giving a sneak peek of the album. The fans loved it, and we knew this song would be a highlight on the new album because it is classic BUTCHER BABIES. It has all the hallmarks of what a metal song should contain: Brutal vocals? Check. Crushing guitar riffs? Check. Pummeling double bass? Check. Guitar solo? CHECK."

In a recent interview with Rapture Radio, Shepherd spoke about BUTCHER BABIES' decision to release a double album. She said: "We took 2019 off of touring to write and record an album that we were set to release in 2020, and, obviously, the world died — it was basically a fend-for-yourself moment. So we put everything on hold and we decided to use that time to write. And so we wrote a ton during that time. And so we decided to put the album on hold and go and record more. So now we have a double album coming at you this summer… And I'm so excited for people to hear all of this music that we've made within the span of the last four years. In fact, this morning we got the final mix to one song that's just finished. So you're gonna hear stuff we wrote in 2019, and then you're gonna hear stuff that we wrote and just finished last week."

Asked if BUTCHER BABIES' recently released single "Beaver Cage" is a good representation of what fans can expect to hear on the upcoming LP, Heidi said: "There's a lot going on [the upcoming double album]. Because this was written in two different parts, I think you're gonna hear a lot of different sides to BUTCHER BABIES. But I would say overall 'Beaver Cage' is a great representation of the album. There's a lot of really, really dark stuff on this album — we haven't done that in a while; there's really dark stuff — but then there's also really playful stuff, like 'Beaver Cage'. So I think that this is a really great representation of not just the album but the band too."

This past March, Heidi told Heavy New York that songwriting definitely does not get easier as she and her bandmates get more albums under their belts. "I think that there's something to be said about evolving," she said. "[BUTCHER BABIES' debut album] 'Goliath' was 10 years ago; I'm a totally different human than I was 10 years ago. I've experienced, I feel, a whole lifetime of stuff, touring the world multiple times over with my friends. I'm just kind of deciding what to even touch on. And especially whereas… in the industry, people say, 'Oh, you need to be doing this now.' 'Oh, you need to do this. This is gonna make you successful. You need to transition into this way, that way, this way, this way, that way.' So kind of maintaining the integrity of what you want to create, I think, is a lot harder album to album to album.

"In this band, I'm super grateful for having the bandmembers that we have because we love to experiment and try different things," she continued. "And on this [upcoming fourth BUTCHER BABIES] album you'll hear some of the softest stuff we've ever done… A lot of these songs have been released, like 'Bottom Of The Bottle', which is a total radio song, and that was a song that I went in with the intention and totally [said], 'This is the kind of song that I wanna write for this.' And then you'll hear songs like 'Beaver Cage', where it's wild and chaotic. So I'm excited that we have bandmembers that let us experiment in that way. But when it came to deciding what kind of album we really, really wanted to do, we ended up with a double album because we kind of had two different directions that we really wanted to showcase."

Heidi went on to say that "Beaver Cage" is "quirky, it's silly, it's fun, and I think the whole album really reflects that. But the album has a dark side as well," she revealed. "And something that we're very excited about is showing these different sides of BUTCHER BABIES.

"When [2017's] 'Lilith' came out, I actually had quit smoking immediately after that album, so my voice changed so much between then and now. So you get to really hear the fun ranges I was able to discover in my voice after quitting smoking."

BUTCHER BABIES fourth studio album was completed with producer Josh Schroeder (LORNA SHORE, KING 810).

Last October, BUTCHER BABIES shared the official music video for their cover version of rapper Saweetie's chart-topping single "Best Friend". The clip was directed by Dale "Rage" Resteghini and was filmed at the Bare Den adult entertainment club in Newton, New Jersey.

BUTCHER BABIES have been performing their cover of "Best Friend" at their recent live shows.

"Lilith" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marked the band's recording debut with drummer Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner in 2016.

In July 2019, longtime BUTCHER BABIES bassist Jason Klein announced his departure from the band. He has since been replaced by Ricky Bonazza.

Since 2020, BUTCHER BABIES have independently released a handful of newly energized singles, some of which were produced and co-written by Matt Good (FROM FIRST TO LAST),including "Bottom Of A Bottle", "Sleeping With The Enemy", "Yorktown", "Last Dance" and "It's Killin' Time, Baby!" The latter was inspired by the DC Comics character Lobo, a heavy metal bounty hunter.

Photo credit: Beatriz Mariano