Listen to a Song from Illustrations' Vengefully Scorching New EP

God can be kind of a dick, right? Especially in the Old Testament; dude commits mass genocide left and right, turns people into salt, all sorts of stuff. Such cruelty and wickedness has been distilled sonically into the band Illustrations, and their new track “Iron Rain.” Illustrations is a punk-influenced hardcore band from San Antonio, TX, who’s releasing a new digital EP this summer aptly titled Acts of God. The track barrels out of the gate with a gritty, chunky riff ready to stomp out anyone in their path with a fervor. That smoldering rift carries the punch of death 'n’ roll like Entombed’s Wolverine Blues, though it doesn’t rely on its guitar tones to carry it. Each kick and hit of the drum grooves in the midst of the thunderstorm of a riff, providing a crunchy dichotomy. Speaking of dichotomies, the song isn’t all kicks and stabs. Before you even realize it, the track hums down to a haunting piano piece to destabilize the structure of the song. It’s a little beguiling since the song doesn’t stay pretty for long, with Illustrations grabbing the piano hook and slamming it right back into the listener’s ears on a chariot of thundering guitars. Once again, the song creates an illusion of dying down, only for it to vault back up for a final stand of screaming, howling, shredding, and slamming. Check out the track below, and catch the band on tour this July with Plague Widow.

w/ Plague Widow

6/19 - Austin, TX @ Holy Mountain *

7/05 - Dallas, TX @ 1919 Hemphill

7/06 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/ The Coltranes, Total Abuse

7/07 - San Antonio, TX @ Limelight

7/08 - El Paso, TX @ TBA w/ Communion Of Thieves

7/09 - Phoenix, AZ @ Fiftyonewest

7/10 - Tempe, AZ @ The Tempe Tavern w/ Bastard Feast

7/11 - Murrieta, CA @ The Dial w/ The Coltranes *

7/12 - Pomona, CA @ Casa Jimenez *

7/13 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Artistic Armory *

8/2 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/ Oathbreaker, Cult Leader *
* NO PLAGUE WIDOW