Prisoner make you their bitch with the relentless brutality of their punishing new album Putrid | Obsolete — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Now in the 12th year of their sentence, the unrepentant Richmond crew unite death metal, doom, crust and industrial on their devastatingly heavy sophomore release — a monstrous beast that carries that marriage of “extreme metal and noise” to new depths. Arriving seven long years after their 2017 debut Beyond the Infinite, Putrid | Obsolete‘s tracks share a bunk with the likes of Godflesh, Neurosis and Napalm Death — crudely formed into a blunt instrument that bludgeons you into submission with all the subtlety and sweetness of a naked beatdown in the showers.
Putrid | Obsolete was produced by the same team that worked on Beyond the Infinite. It was recorded and mixed by Ricky Olson (.gif from god, Enforced) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Nails, Body Void). Yet, seven years down the line, the sound that these two have summoned is exponentially more earthquaking than what came before. Also contributing to the immensity of the new recording is newest member Adam Lake, who makes his recorded debut with Prisoner here and helps elevate the band’s industrial and noise facets to a central position within the mix.
Guitarist/vocalist Pete Rozsa states: “Before Adam was in the band, Justin (Hast, bassist) and I would have a few synths on stage and would play samples over top of a few songs. We decided we would benefit more from a full-time member committed to samples, programming, and synthesizer, and Adam filled that role perfectly.”
All three of Prisoner’s vocalists — Rozsa, Hast and guitarist Dan Finn — contributed lyrics to Putrid | Obsolete, whose overarching theme is “the horrific failure of humanity,” in Rozsa’s words. He gives this statement about the meaning behind first single Leaden Tomb: “At this point we are more than a few steps into a dystopian collapse. Technocracy, capitalism, war, and human beings’ general hatred toward each other has put most of us into a defeating cycle while some centralize wealth and power. We have also built up our technology in certain ways that serve to perpetuate this cycle. Leaden Tomb is specifically inspired by the collapse of the environment, caused by uncontrolled capitalism and the short-term desires of the ruling class poisoning the Earth.”
Listen to Putrid | Obsolete below and visit Prisoner at their website, Facebook and Instagram.
