The Agonist are, Like, Really Fucking Popular

Of all the bands we write about here at MetalSucks that I’d expect to have legions of adoring fans, The Agonist weren’t high atop that list — somewhere in the middle, perhaps. Don’t get me wrong, Axl and I have both been trumping this band’s praises endlessly over the past couple of years; we think they’re fantastic, one of the best bands in their sub-genre! We just didn’t know how big of a deal they were..

… until we entered the press cycle for their forthcoming album Five and started covering its singles and videos. And, like, for real, people — this band is POPULAR! The last two times we’ve posted news item — “The Chain” and “The Moment” — traffic on the site shot through the roof, and the accompanying Facebook posts had some of the highest engagement of anything that didn’t have “Metallica” “Dave Mustaine” or “Moobs” in the title.

I am therefore forced to conclude that at least one of the following is true: 1) MetalSucks readers just so happen to love The Agonist more than your average metalhead, 2) This band was always super-popular but we’ve just been ignorant, or 3) The Agonist have experienced a surge in popularity lately, perhaps thanks to vocalist Vicky Psarakis joining the group in 2014.

I’m mostly gonna go with (3), but with a nugget of (2) thrown in — admittedly, this is not really a band I paid much attention to until recently, although if they were driving Lamb of God levels of traffic previously (which they almost are right now) I’d have known about it.

ANYWAY…. here’s the new video for “The Hunt.” It looks as if it was shot atop an old factory or something, and while they certainly aren’t the first band to take such an approach, it’s done in such a way that’s entertaining and striking.

Five comes out on September 30 via Napalm. Pre-order it here