Official press release:
Floridian brutal death metal 5-piece Nekroí Theoí will release their debut full length album, Dead Gods on May 31, 2019. The new album is available to pre-order right now and will be released on CD and LP in clear with black swirl and in navy blue with dark red splatter.
The first album track, “Blue Shirt//White Hood” is streaming now via MetalSucks:
Regarding the nature and intent behind this single and the critically important issue it takes head-on, Nekroí Theoí vocalist and founder JJ “Shiv” Polachek comments:
“Early on in the album writing process I knew I wanted to directly confront the issue of racist police brutality in a song, but the main concern was how to do that properly. I initially thought about the fact that we are a brutal death band, and now might be the perfect time to embellish in some gory lyrics and revenge fantasies. Trouble is I don’t give a shit about gore and I could not find it in me to write about something that bores me. Also so many other bands have done that before, better than I could, and there would be no way it wouldn’t be disingenuous from me.
Thusly I decided to approach this as soberly as I could. I consciously chose to avoid getting too macho with it and by keeping it grounded in the dismal reality that there is a systematic problem that can only be ignored if you choose to ignore it. The truth is that if you pay any attention at all you see blatant, malicious patterns in the function of the police. There is hard data and analysis that leads to no other conclusion. The institution of the police itself, from its inception, is corrupt. Their legal function is to protect private property, not serve humanity, and this has become obvious in increasingly grim and morbid ways. The targeting of minorities, particularly black communities, is undeniable when you look at their actions even in the slightest amount of greater context.
This is not identity politics. This is a truth that people have to face directly, materially, every day. A truth with a massive body count. A body count that you can find records of, ad nauseam, easily. I want to make it as clear as possible that I don’t have any desire to be a mouthpiece for this issue, as I’m on the side of it that gets away with dumb bullshit other people wouldn’t. But no one seems to be talking about this to any significant extent in death metal, and it needs to be addressed. Centrism has failed us, and people are fucking dead. If the least I can do is be a vehicle to bring this topic to light in a culture that ignores it at large, I’m gonna do that. I’m not an authority on it by any means, but what I can be is a white dude telling my fellow white dudes to maybe pay attention to things that don’t only effect white dudes.
Additionally, everyone would do well to watch this very educational, accessible, and PROPERLY CITED Contrapoints video on the matter. I’m aware that a YouTube link in a quote is weird, but fuck it, we’re not talking about some mythical lore bullshit, this is a topic that fucking matters. We are approaching this in good faith, as people who seek nothing but truth and solving the problem. To solve it, we all need a clear picture of it. That picture is ugly. We can’t look away anymore.”
Dead Gods track listing:
- “Doxology”
- “The Foul Eucharist”
- “Simony of Hollow Christs”
- “Swine Cull”
- “The Name Above All Names”
- “Blue Shirt // White Hood”
- “Ancient of Days”
- “Empty Glory”
- “Dead Gods”
Nekroí Theoí is:
JJ Polachek – Vocals
Mark Gonzalez – Guitar
Luke Phillips -Guitar
Dustin Rogers – Drums
Matthew Marino – Bass