Ontario’s Spread the Disease were pushing at the boundaries of hardcore, black metal, and death metal well before “blackened hardcore” was a recognized term. Formed in 1997 as a side project with members of New Day Rising, the band quickly carved out a cult following.
Their 1998 debut, We Bleed From Many Wounds, set the tone, but their follow-up LP, The Sheer Force of Inertia, took their sound even further, moving into more experimental territory. Spread the Disease’s original run was short, but their style would become far more familiar in the years ahead.
After years away, Spread the Disease are back.
With Shane Post (Bird of Ill Omen) now on vocals, the current lineup has spent the past two years working on The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering. The new album draws from the band’s original foundation, but there’s a renewed focus and intensity running through these songs.
Today, No Echo is premiering the album’s latest single, “Indoctrinated.” Musically, the track channels the hostile, blackened metallic hardcore that defined Spread the Disease from the start. There’s a blistering aggression here, but also an atmosphere that feels genuinely suffocating.
Lyrically, the song looks at what happens when people give up independent thought and follow others without question.
“‘Indoctrinated’ is about the lengths that people will go to further their personal agendas,” vocalist Shane Post tells No Echo. “How the youth can fall into that trap by following their peers. It’s about critical thinking and making your own decisions without influence.”
The new album was recorded and mixed at Brave Studios with Spread the Disease guitarist Dave Buschemeyer, and mastered by Greg Dawson at BWC Studios. Buschemeyer and guitarist Trevor Dykstra wrote the music on The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering., while the album's lyrics were penned by vocalist Shane Post, Ryan McInturff handled bass duties for the sessions.
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The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering. will be released July 10 via Hypaethral Records (vinyl, CD).
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