“Young lovers entangled in pain.”
A year on from their sophomore LP, queercore duo Death Goals have released a new single, “Knife Bouquet“, through Prosthetic Records. The massive track holds all of Death Goal‘s blistering energy in balance with melodic vocals and expansive effects. “Knife Bouquet“‘s lyrics are collected from old journals are described as a ‘necessary catharsis’ – a yearning to move on from years-old heartbreak, but being unsure of how to do so. The track features Matt Reynolds (of Haggard Cat and Heck), and Harry Bailey (vocals and guitar) describes the band’s history with Reynolds in an exclusive feature below.
26/06/2014 – Enter Shikari w/ Baby Godzilla at Hatfield Forum
This was the first time I saw the artists formerly known as Baby Godzilla (now known as Heck) live, opening for Enter Shikari twenty minutes from my family home.
I had stumbled upon Heck through the “Powerboat Disaster“ video, and was immediately entranced by them. The ferocity of their live show, the total disregard for their instruments, and the way they walked the line between chaos and utter calamity.
Needless to say when this show got announced I had to buy tickets.
I’d seen Enter Shikari once before and knew them to be an incredible live act, but as the members of Heck took to the stage I forgot they were even playing. Instantly guitars were thrown into the audience, drums dragged around the stage, Johnny scaled the bar, they were everything I wanted a band to be.
Once they’d finally got the drums back onstage I ran to the merch table and spoke to them, nervously asking for a selfie and buying a copy of their single “Pig“. Matt was friendly and gave a rambling 17 year old far too much of his time.
Fast forward many years and several Heck shows later (shout out to the Hevy fest set in particular), Death Goals was born, and with no shame I’ll admit I ripped off everything I’d seen Heck do, trying with limited success to fill the massive gap they left after they broke up.
Our paths would cross from time to time at shows with Matt and Tom playing in Haggard Cat and Palm Reader, but the crowning moment of my fandom was when Death Goals got to open Heck’s reunion show at the Underworld.
Needless to say but there would be no Death Goals without Heck, and being able to say Matt is on one of our songs, is something 17 year old me could have only ever dreamed of.
In a Death Goals first, the track features their ‘most clean’ vocals yet, delivered from behind the drumkit by George Milner, who channels 00s alt rock into angular metalcore. It’s fair to say it’s a big track from the band, beating out all of the tracks on A Garden Of Dead Flowers. A nod must be given to the visuals of “Knife Bouquet“, working with longtime collaborator Kate Feast to unite ‘spooky’ with BRATitude.
Death Goals have more tour dates coming in support of US noise rockers Tunic, and one very special date in Manchester:
September 16 – London, UK (In Support Of Tunic)
September 17 – Birmingham, UK (In Support Of Tunic)
September 18 – Southsea, UK (In Support Of Tunic)
September 19 – Bristol, UK (In Support Of Tunic)
September 20 – Cardiff, UK (In Support Of Tunic)
September 21 – Liverpool, UK (In Support Of Tunic)
September 22 – Love Day Festival – Manchester, UK – performing A Garden Of Dead Flowers in full
Check out our review of A Garden Of Dead Flowers and our interviews with the band here and here.