Exclusive: On their new single, Ontario's Exalt go for the throat.
Though their name isn't dropped too often, Exalt were early adopters of the nu metal-influenced metalcore sound now led by bands like Code Orange and Vein. The Canadian quintet didn't capitalize on that, though, instead slowing down to allow members to focus on other facets of life: school, work and Old Wounds, whom guitarist Ben Waugh joined in late 2017. Now, they’re back with their first new material since 2016’s The Shape You Took Before the Ache, and we’ve got the exclusive first listen.
Burn for Me is decidedly metallic hardcore without giving into the 2019 trappings of the genre. The new song is hardly 'nu,' with the mid-song groove’s single-note stylings (as opposed to chords) being the only possible culprit. It also mercifully avoids the oft-abused panic chords. The opening can only be described as driving and possibly even a little hopeful, while the ending breakdown is the complete opposite, with despair dripping as the chords drone out.
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Ben explains the pure position from which their new music came and how that contrasts their last release:
“The Shape [You Took Before the Ache] felt null to me after we made it. It was false in a way, and maybe that came from the process of how it came together, or how we felt about our team around us. Whatever the case, I think to contribute to extreme music at that particular point in time the way we wanted to simply wasn’t meant to happen.
“That’s not to say we weren’t happy with the songs we had made, but when publications begin referring to your art as ‘nu-metal,’ it certainly does not leave you feeling fulfilled with what you’ve shared with the world.
“It’s been so good and so necessary to explore the diversity of layers one can have in life. The distance we’ve had from music these past few years have led us back to where we feel intentional in our art once again.”
Listen to our exclusive stream of Burn For Me below:
The song also marks the debut of new guitarist Luke Nicholson and comes from the group’s currently unnamed fourth LP, which is set for release next year. In addition to the aforementioned The Shape…, the forthcoming album will follow 2014’s Pale Light and 2012’s Breach False Minds. The band’s first release was a split EP with Counterparts.
Exalt are also revving up for an extended weekend run around Ontario with Sewn Eyes (formerly A Sight for Sewn Eyes) and Eternal Sleep, including a set at HopeFest, where they’ll be joined by Fucked Up, ‘68, Auras and others.
September
19 - London, ON Call the Office
20 - Toronto, ON Sneaky Dee’s
21 - Waterloo, ON Maxwell’s (HopeFest)
22 - Hamilton, ON Absinthe
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