Criminal Fear Itself

Metal Blade Records have posted the first single and cover artwork of the new CRIMINAL album, which is titled "Fear Itself". Click on the link below to listen to the track "Down Driven". We will be offering a special fan pack (CD + shirt + extras) right here tomorrow!

Official press release by Metal Blade Records

CRIMINAL announces new album "Fear Itself" for release on March 11th!

Anglo-Chilean thrashers CRIMINAL have announced their new album "Fear Itself" for release March 11th through Metal Blade Records.

Listen now to the first single "Down Driven" at metalblade.com/criminal and check out the front art and the pre-order section. "Fear Itself" will be released on CD, vinyl and all digital outlets.

Comments CRIMINAL: "Everyone who's heard the new album agrees that it is our most pissed-off sounding record to date. We didn't try to make it more brutal, but that's the way it came out. We just let the metal flow. I think having Sergio in the band has something to do with it, because, as a long time fan of the band, he told us when certain things seemed unnecessary. In fact, all but one of the songs are under four minutes long. Straight to the point, quick and painful.

"In terms of style, we didn't really plan anything, we just wrote the riffs that came to our minds. So there's a bit of thrash, hardcore and death metal, but also some classic heavy metal. All the stuff that we love put through a blender. And the end result sounds like Criminal. It's hard to define, but I think a long time ago we created our own sound, and every new album ends up sounding like that."

Recorded at CRIMINAL bassist Danny Biggin's HVR Studios in Suffolk, UK, with a "no bullshit" approach to recording, the band purposely avoided the vices of modern metal production such as samples, quantizing and amp simulators.

The striking artwork by renowned Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu (At The Gates, Arch Enemy, Mayhem, etc.) perfectly represents the bleak, dystopian atmosphere of the lyrics, which denounce warmongering, misinformation, exploitation and other ills of modern society.

A metal band with a hardcore attitude, CRIMINAL's longevity is a testament to their honesty and passion. In it for all the right reasons.

Anton Reisenegger - vocals/guitars

Sergio Klein - guitars

Dan Biggin - bass

Zac O'Neil - drums

1. Intro
2. Down Driven
3. False Flag Attack
4. Shock Doctrine
5. The Needle and Knife
6. Scream of Consciousness
7. Summoning the Apocalypse
8. The One Who Speaks at Night
9. Animals to Gods
10. Deep in the Rot
11. Wasted Youth
12. Carne Molida