Counterparts Share New Single “Bound To The Burn”

Ontario-based metalcore heavyweights, Counterparts, are gearing up for the release of their upcoming full-length, “A Eulogy For Those Still Here”, due out October 7th from Pure Noise Records. The record finds Counterparts tapping into a deep sense of dread that pushes their visceral sound to even greater extremes. It’s an album that revolves around uncertainty but results in the group’s most definitive statement to date.

Today Counterparts have shared the album’s third single, “Bound To The Burn”, blast of crushingly heavy guitars and unrelenting drums that also highlights the band’s ability to melody into all of the aggression. The track follows “Unwavering Vow” and “Whispers of Your Death” (which garnered attention from the likes of Stereogum, Revolver, BrooklynVegan, Exclaim, and more), and continues to tease an even more ominous Counterparts than ever before. 

Vocalist Brendan Murphy spoke candidly about the new song, saying: “‘Bound To The Burn’ is about my personal frustrations that come with playing music for a living. I’m sure it goes without saying, but I do love being a part of Counterparts, though sometimes it can feel like Counterparts/I are easily replaceable in the world of heavy music. This song is a metaphor for how I’ve let the pressure of churning out new music and constantly being on the road ‘kill’ me in a sense. But here I am, still ‘bound to the burn’ because when I DO consider the other options I have for a career, I end up drawing a blank and I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do. I want to be here, but I don’t… I’m learning to balance the two”.

Since forming in 2007, Counterparts – made up of 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 have been honing 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”.