Minus the Bear’s New Single “Viaduct” is Lit

Minus the Bear are one of those bands that always come up in the conversation of non-metal that metalheads can dig. Even so, I’ve never been able to get into them despite liking plenty of other bands in that same category: The Mars Volta, Dredg, etc.

I’m digging the crap out of their latest jam “Viaduct,” though, which premiered today on Revolver. Fitting, then, that they’re calling it quits after this album — figures! The band’s forthcoming EP Fair Enough will be their final release, and they’re embarking on a farewell tour that runs in two legs between October and the end of the year.

I hadn’t realized until now (thanks, Fred) that Minus the Bear had Botch lineage, but it totally makes sense. There’s a certain complexity to the music — half proggy, half post-hardcore, all catchy — that Botch were the masters of, and it’s easy enough to hear how things could have sonically progressed from Point A (Botch) to Point B (Minus the Bear) over time. “Viaduct” is an enthralling song, both upbeat and melancholy, and it’s got a hook that’ll grab a hold of your ear for days. Check it out below.

Fair Enough comes out October 19th via Suicide Squeeze; pre-order here. Tour dates underneath the embed.