On New Single “Demon King,” Brand of Sacrifice Prove Deathcore Can Evolve

It’s crazy to think that deathcore has existed for basically fifteen friggin’ years now. In my mind “deathcore kids” are still KIDS, when in reality a solid chunk of the teenagers who grew up on Job For a Cowboy’s Doom now have kids of their own. The fuck is THAT all about? Time is a flat circle and nothing matters, and I’ve given up trying to comprehend it.

Here’s what I do know: deathcore is still going strong, and while the genre is full of unoriginal bands who ape each other in an infinite feedback loop of chugs (just like it always has been), there are a handful of acts that find ways to breathe new life into what has mostly become stagnant. One of those is Brand of Sacrifice, who just announced their sophomore album, Lifeblood, after an exciting couple of years promoting their explosive debut, God Hand. I’d liken their approach to Shadow of Intent’s in that the band are experts at using fluctuating dynamics for an extra heavy effect with electronic and orchestral elements to push deathcore forward into the ’20s. No, they’re not reinventing the wheel, but they’ve definitely introduced an innovation in all-weather tires or some shit like that (I’m writing this very late at night, cut me some slack).

Here’s what the band offers on “Demon King,” their new album’s first single:

“We’re SO excited to release ‘Demon King,’ the first taste of our second LP, ‘Lifeblood.’ The song is one of the album’s faster and heavier ones, so we made a similarly intense video. This time around we wanted to immerse our listeners in the album’s story, so we did exactly that; you can experience the album cover of ‘Lifeblood’—itself a collision of the art from God Hand and The Interstice—in 360 VR. We made an album that is sonically a complete experience, so we want to make the whole campaign as immersive as possible. The reign begins…”

Check out “Demon King” below. Lifeblood comes out on March 5 via Blood Blast; pre-order here.