Photo by: Joey Senft
Official press release:
New Bedford, Massachusetts’ trailblazers A Wilhelm Scream are back with their sixth full-length studio LP, Cheap Heat, confirmed for February 27th via Creator-Destructor Records.
Just over three years after their 2022-released Lose Your Delusion LP, A Wilhelm Scream arrives swinging harder than ever with ten tracks of their adrenaline-fueled melodic hardcore/punk rock on Cheap Heat. Combining the dark nihilistic mood of the band’s classic 2005 album Ruiner with the technicality, ferocity, and sharp precision of 2007’s monumental Career Suicide, the Cheap Heat LP is a unique hybrid of the darker, more aggressive elements of the band’s sound. Vocalist Nuno Pereira states:
“This record, and the process of recording it, are both a testament to and a celebration of the firepower and dedication our band has for our music. It has vitriolic energy behind every vocal, soaring guitars relentlessly shredding, and that sinister tongue in cheek shit we specialize in. This will go down as our best work to date. Guaranteed.”
There’s no one quite like A Wilhelm Scream. Never bowing to trends, riding anyone’s waves, breaking up and reuniting, they’re the underdogs that can’t be killed. Their amalgamation of punk, metal, and hardcore has always seen the band doing things their way since their beginning, and with Cheap Heat, the quintet delivers an absolute ass-kicker of a new album to bask in their glory of over twenty-five years of holding it down on their own terms. Unapologetic in their delivery, Cheap Heat reminds the music world that no one does it like the boys from New Beige.
Cheap Heat was produced and mixed by A Wilhelm Scream’s own guitarist/vocalist Trevor Reilly at their hometown Anchor End Studio, with mastering handled by his father Joe Reilly at Black & Blue Mastering. The new album also marks the first for the band’s newest member, Ben Murray (Light This City, Heartsounds, Darkness Everywhere) on second guitar, who joins vocalist Nuno Pereira, vocalist/guitarist Trevor Reilly, drummer Nicholas Angelini, and bassist Brian Robinson. Group vocals are delivered by Jon Teves, Sean O’Brien, and the band.
The album artwork by Tyler DiPaola paints a scene of a protagonist in the band’s version of a cinematic thriller, up against the odds of the world, seeking vengeance and what’s theirs, destroying anyone in their path who has done them wrong. Thematically, Cheap Heat – in wrestling terms referring to a villain or “heel” getting a quick, easy negative reaction from the crowd – takes a storyteller approach in its ten tracks. Guitarist/vocalist Trevor Reilly explains:
“Our last album was more personal and earnestly poetic in our way, so the only place to go next lyrically was back down in the gutter where we thrive. We embraced our dark side on this one. Dove into sociopathy, personality disorders, concepts of evil, nature vs nurture and came out of this process with some savage stories told from our signature perspective of the sore winner that refuses to lose. There are no good guys here.”
Throughout the ten crushing tracks on Cheap Heat, the vibe is abundantly clear. Nonstop riffs, soaring hooks, an unrelenting and incomparable rhythm section, and more piss and vinegar than ever before. Taking dominance over the West Coast style of melodic punk music that originally shaped the band’s sound, A Wilhelm Scream injects their cold-as-ice New England approach in their lyrical content and musical compositions. As some of the last real ones from that era left with the fire still burning inside them, A Wilhelm Scream isn’t stopping anytime soon. Clocking in at just under thirty minutes, Cheap Heat album doesn’t overstay its welcome. A straight-to-the-point street delivery of moody existentialism, and a testament to the venom and spirit of the band.
“We gave out all our flowers and gratitude that we got left in this world on our last two records and it’s time to turn heel for the good of the game.”
The lead single for Cheap Heat arrives through a video directed by Mike Rivkees for “Midnight Ghost”. Ben Murray writes:
“‘Midnight Ghost’ is definitely one of my favorite songs off the upcoming record. It has a darker mood while still hitting the listeners with tons of intensity and energy. It’s a fitting first single because we all wrote this one together in Trevor’s studio earlier on in the writing process, trading off riffs and ideas as we went along. The way it all came together was very natural and fun, and I feel like we captured the energy of the song really well in the music video.”
Watch A Wilhelm Scream’s video for “Midnight Ghost”, now playing here:
Creator-Destructor Records will release Cheap Heat on three vinyl variants, compact disc, cassette, and digitally on February 27th. Find pre-order/merch options at the label webshop here and Bandcamp here.
Additional videos/singles are to be expected over the weeks leading up to the album’s release.
In conjunction with the release of Cheap Heat, the band will encircle the Pacific Ocean on a two-month tour. First up, A Wilhelm Scream will hit the US West Coast with Death By Stereo and labelmates Doomsday from February 19th through March 1st. Days later, they’ll invade Australia for a week of performances running from March 6th through March 15th, followed immediately by a tour through Japan from March 18th through March 22nd. See all currently confirmed dates below and expect widespread dates in support of the album to post through most of the new year.
Cheap Heat track listing:
- “Somebody’s Gonna Die”
- “The Scumbag Grift”
- “Midnight Ghost”
- “I Got Tunnel Vision”
- “Let It Ride”
- “Fell Off”
- “Run.”
- “Visitor: Unimpressed”
- “Unsolving the Mystery”
- “Poison II”
West Coast US w/ Death By Stereo, Doomsday:
2/19 Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge
2/20 Las Vegas, NV – Backstage Bar
2/21 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
2/24 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
2/25 Vancouver, BC – Wise Hall
2/26 Portland, OR – Dantes
2/27 San Francisco, CA – Neck Of The Woods
2/28 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
3/01 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
Australia Tour:
3/06 Hobart, TAS – Republic Bar
3/07 Adelaide, SA – Ed Castle
3/08 Melbourne, VIC – Stay Gold
3/11 Newcastle, NSW – Hamilton Station Hotel
3/13 Brisbane, QLD – Crowbar
3/14 Sydney, NSW – Crowbar
3/15 Wollongong, NSW – La La La’s
Japan Tour:
3/18 Tokyo – Shinjuku Catshole
3/19 Nagoya – Tsurumai Daytrip
3/20 Osaka – Yogibo Holy Mountain
3/21 Yamanashi – Kofu Conviction
3/22 Tokyo – Shinjuku ACB