Canadian Hardcore Heroes COMEBACK KID Announce New Album 'Chosen Hell'

Canadian hardcore heroes COMEBACK KID have announced their new album, "Chosen Hell". It arrives November 6 via SharpTone Records in the U.S. and via Dine Alone Records in Canada.

"Chosen Hell", the band's eighth and latest LP, further distills the potency of the musical elements that have defined COMEBACK KID since the beginning while once again evolving their creative spectrum, weaving in influences of blazing modern metal, piss-and-vinegar punk, and even vulnerable melodicism that adds compelling contrast to their longstanding and beloved sonic foundation.

Today, the band has shared the video for the title track. It pairs deeply introspective lyricism atop a punishing aural arsenal.

"The theme of the title track 'Chosen Hell' on our new album touches on morality and ethics," explains COMEBACK KID singer Andrew Neufeld. "Something as simple as right or wrong. Good or evil. Healthy or unhealthy, and our ability to make a choice. Often, we are incapable of choosing the right thing, and we find ourselves in situations that we know hold us back, therefore affecting our own well being. The outcome is what we make of it."

Additionally, the album cover design is an actual structure built by Callum Preston in Melbourne, Australia.

"Chosen Hell" track listing:

01. Target On My Back
02. Vindication
03. Shedding Season (feat. SPIRITBOX's Courtney LaPlante)
04. Lost And Found
05. Underneath The Pressure
06. Chosen Hell
07. Yesterday's Gone (feat. INCENDIARY's Brendan Garrone)
08. Tunnel Vision
09. Becoming
10. Heartland Elegy
11. Too Late

The band will tour this fall. Additional U.S., Canadian and European dates to follow.

COMEBACK KID on tour:

Nov. 07 - Oklahoma City, OK - Flyover Fest
Nov. 08 - Dallas, TX - Puzzles Deep Ellum *
Nov. 09 - Houston, TX - Secret Group *
Nov. 10 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger *
Nov. 11 - Austin, TX - Come And Take It Live *
Nov. 13 - Las Vegas, NV - American Legion Post 8 +
Nov. 14 - San Diego, CA - Corazon Del Barrio +
Nov. 15 - Los Angeles, CA - 1720 +
Nov. 16 - Berkeley, CA - Cornerstone +
Nov. 18 - Portland, OR - Dante's ^
Nov. 19 - Tacoma, WA - Real Art ^
Nov. 20 - Boise, ID - Shrine Social Club %
Nov. 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro Music Hall %
Nov. 23 - Denver, CO - HQ ^

* COMEBACK KID w/ DEAD HEAT, FEAR OF LOSS, SLOW PULSE
+ COMEBACK KID w/ DEFEATER, DEAD HEAT, BARRIO SLAM
^ COMEBACK KID w/ THE WARRIORS, DEAD HEAT, BARRIO SLAM
% COMEBACK KID w/ THE WARRIORS, DEAD HEAT, TIME X HEIST

Defying a sadly and increasingly pervasive trend in today's heavy music scene, COMEBACK KID have managed to not only maintain but expand the energy and urgency of their groundbreaking debut and sophomore LPs over the course of a decorated 25-plus-year career. Luckily — at least for their fervidly loyal fanbase — there's a lot to be angry about these days...

The quintet, comprised of Neufeld, guitarists Jeremy Hiebert and Stu Ross, bassist Chase Brenneman and drummer Terrance Pettitt, cut "Chosen Hell" with heralded producer/engineer Will Putney at his Graphic Nature Audio studio in New Jersey — an exercise that clearly elevated the impact, power, and passion of these 11 tracks.

"He's also been a supporter of ours from the get, so he knows where we're coming from and really understood our vision," shares Neufeld. "We all played to our strengths as best we could, and I think that's really apparent in the final product."

Two selections add new names to COMEBACK KID's long and diverse list of guest vocalists, with SPIRITBOX frontwoman Courtney LaPlante injecting her raw guttural glory into "Shedding Season" while INCENDIARY's Brendan Garrone augments the ferocity of "Yesterday's Gone" with his trademark swagger.

"Overall, I was able to let my guard down a little bit while writing for this one, and took more input from everybody else," adds Neufeld. "It was really collaborative that way, which is also kind of new for us."

It's that blend of familiar musical fury laced with novel elements that's earned COMEBACK KID its loyal following and overall longevity — along with their ability to relay said fury from the stage. Through the years, they've toured relentlessly alongside iconic acts from every corner of heavy music — hardcore icons like HATEBREED and SICK OF IT ALL; punk pioneers including DROPKICK MURPHYS and BAD RELIGION; metal masters like GOJIRA and PARKWAY DRIVE; and even rock radio mainstays like RISE AGAINST and ALEXISONFIRE.

There's still plenty to be angry about, but "Chosen Hell" is a masterclass in processing that pain and rage and outputting something truly transcendent — a reward for conquering the hardships we all encounter. And if COMEBACK KID can carry forward this trend of continually exceeding their own standards, then we can only eagerly await what might come next.

Photo credit: Keith Thompson