Photo by Ben Ward
Counterparts are back. The Hamilton, Ontario-based metalcore heavyweights have announced their upcoming full-length, A Eulogy For Those Still Here, due out October 7th from New Damage Records. The album finds Counterparts tapping into a deep sense of uncertainty and dread and pushing their visceral sound to even greater extremes to make their most definitive statement yet.
To mark the announcement, Counterparts have shared the album’s first single “Unwavering Vow.” Kicking off with a blast of pummeling drums and intricate riffing, the gut punch of a track offers a ground-shaking introduction to A Eulogy For Those Still Here. After two minutes of intense aggression the song pauses for a brief respite of haunting atmosphere, then hurtles into one of the most crushing breakdowns the band have ever written.
Since forming in 2007, Counterparts—made up of vocalist Brendan Murphy, guitarists Alex Re and Jesse Doreen, bassist Tyler Williams, and drummer Kyle Brownlee—have gone from underdogs to a globetrotting powerhouse in the world of aggressive music. Engineered/produced by Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Every Time I Die, Vein.fm), A Eulogy For Those Still Here finds Murphy at a crossroads, preoccupied with the inevitability of change and endings. “I think I deal with things by preparing myself for the end,” he explains. “With so much of this record I’m mourning the loss of someone that’s still alive or saying goodbye to something that hasn’t left yet.” The result is a high-stakes record written as a true statement of intent—a mix of crushing heaviness and stark atmospherics that draws on everything Counterparts has honed for the past 15 years. “All of these things I have are still a big part of my life but one day they won’t be, and I don’t want to be focusing on that instead of enjoying the time I have with them,” says Murphy. “Maybe I’m saying goodbye preemptively but I think it’s important to say goodbye while you can.”
Upcoming Shows:
June 3 – Leeds, UK @ Slam Dunk North
June 4 – Hatfield, UK @ Slam Dunk South
June 17 – Saarbrücken, Germany @ Kleiner Club Garage
June 18 – Dessel. Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting
June 19 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
June 20 – Lyon, France @ Rock n’Eat
June 21 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Juha West
June 23 – Manchester, UK @ Outbreak
June 25 – Münster, Germany @ Vainstream (Morning Slot)
June 25 – Ysselsteyn, Netherlands @ Jera On Air (Afternoon Slot)
June 26 – Gräfenhainichen, Germany @ Full Force Festival
October 7 – Köln, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria *
October 8 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Effenaar *
October 13 – Paris, France @ Le Cabaret Sauvage *
October 14 – Hasselt, Belgium @ Muziekodroom *
October 16 – Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof *
October 17 – Pratteln, Switzerland @ Z7 *
October 18 – Milan, Italy @ Circolo Magnolia *
October 20 – München, Germany @ Backstage Werk *
October 21 – Wien, Austria @ Simm City *
October 22 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Akropolis *
October 23 – Wrocław, Poland @ Zaklęte Rewiry *
October 24 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys *
October 26 – Hamburg, Germany @ Gruenspan *
October 27 – Nürnberg, Germany @ Z-Bau *
October 28 – Leipzig, Germany @ Felsenkeller *
October 29 – Hannover, Germany @ Pavillon *
* w/ The Amity Affliction
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