Photo by: Cat Eye View Photography
Official press release:
Fresno, California-based Farooq presents their third album, Heat, confirmed for release August 24th through Glacier Recordings. The album will see release following the band’s upcoming West Coast tour which consumed the first half of August, and the label has posted a visualizer video for the lead track “Owning It” as a precursor to the album’s intent.
Farooq’s musical style forms from a way of writing that chops up and blends together multiple music genre influences by incorporating sounds from the hardcore, metal, punk, rock, hip hop, and rap communities to create an artistic vision that goes against the prototypical hardcore and metal band grain. Lyrically each song is carefully crafted and presents a sincere take on social, cultural, and world issues. When these elements are thrown in together, Farooq melds together to form their own unique brand of hardcore and metal.
Farooq joined Glacier Recordings in early 2018 as the label’s debut and premier artist, the label founded by Keith Welch (Glacier Eater, Sworn Vengeance, Murder Practice). The band converged on the legendary Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California in late April 2018 to record with Zack Ohren (Fallujah, Suffocation, Light This City), where they created a monster of a third album, titled Heat. With ten tracks, the album features guest vocals on “Stone Cold Steve Hawking” by Ryan Encinas of Sworn Vengeance, guest vocals on “E-Male” by Shane Tunney of Lowlife, and a guest guitar solo on “One Nation Under” by Ryan Hansen of Light This City.
A video for the album opener “Owning It” has been posted. Vocalist Daniel Dominguez III offers of the song:
“‘Owning It’ is a collection of my personal feelings and thoughts on my personal battle with depression and anxiety. It is also a call to action I’ve given myself to keep fighting my own battles (and win by fighting every day) to help my loved ones who are going through similar struggles. It calls back to the song ‘Owned’ where I express my disillusionment and frustration with the world around me and how it made me doubt my own existence and worth as a human. ‘Owning it’ is a continuation of those feelings with a strong and deliberate reaction to not let those feelings bury me.”
Check out “Owning It” and a brief studio trailer from the recording sessions for Heat here:
Glacier Recordings will issue Heat on August 24th. Watch for pre-orders and additional audio samples from Heat to be issued in the days ahead.
Heat track listing:
1. “Owning It”
2. “Get 2 Work”
3. “T.O.T.W. 2018”
4. “Mall Metal”
5. “The Story”
6. “Clown Clocks”
7. “One Nation Under”
8. “E-Male”
9. “It’s 2AM Somewhere”
10. “Stone Cold Steve Hawking”
Farooq will advance the release of Heat on a West Coast tour with support from Aberrance and The Cutthroats on select dates. The Heat 2018 Tour begins in the band’s hometown of Fresno on August 2nd and runs through the 12th. Additional tour dates are to be expected.
8/02 – Fresno, CA | Full Circle Brewing Co. * ^
8/03 – Oroville, CA | The Spirit
8/04 – Bend, OR | 3rd Street Pub
8/05 – Spokane, WA | The Pin ^
8/06 – Kalispell, MT | Old School Records ^
8/07 – Pocatello, ID | The Garage ^
8/08 – Denver, CO | Moe’s BBQ ^
8/09 – Salt Lake City, UT | The Underground ^
8/10 – Las Vegas, NV | Double Down Saloon
8/11 – Lancaster, CA | The Britisher
8/12 – Los Angeles, CA | Café Nela
* = no Aberrance
^ = no The Cutthroats
