Sour Times #Streaming

Music heals the soul, as it always has, but not all healing is without scars. The new Sour Times album “The 11th Hour” is arriving timely and true to its namesake: Bursting with fury over the state of the world, it brings explosive and total rage to bear in an aggressive and melodic approach. It acts as an outlet against the rage we have all felt throughout the past year. 

Beginning in 2018, metal duo Ben Reigle (Brain Vacuum, Eat Shit and Die, The Empty Frames) and Joseph Izayea (From Under Concrete Kings, Seeking Sirens) have never been afraid to reinvent a sometimes stale genre and to push back the stylistic barriers, without ever losing their strong identity and foundation. Intensity, melody, power, ferocity and melancholy are the keywords that guide the band’s discography. 

Ben, a multi-disciplined musician and noteworthy artist couples with the thunderous roars of mad-scientist Joseph Izayea in an almost peculiar fashion, tapping influences of modern metal masters like Gojira and Whitechapel while channeling the spirits of Old-School New York Hardcore. The blend screams raw, unbridled honesty in a sober-eyed look at the state of humanity today.

“The 11th Hour” title also resonates in a very particular way. After suffering multiple and nearly fatal strokes in 2019, Ben’s entire life was upended. Forced to relearn not only how to play instruments but also how to walk, write and tattoo again, Ben set forth with clear resolve to recover what he had lost. During a long, grueling, but eventual recovery, what would become “The 11th Hour” emerged. 

It’s a powerful picture that conveys the very essence of “The 11th Hour”: the latest possible moment before it is too late to still make changes. Reaching out to Joseph during the pandemic to collaborate equated to pouring gas on a fire, bringing the concept to new heights and into reality. With the LP complete and slated for release, the band now looks to find its place in the performance world as venues reopen and music scenes begin anew. 

Sour Times’ “The 11th Hour” delivers a polished and contemporary side of the genre, free from the burdens and false concepts of “there will always be time”. 

“The 11th Hour” will be available on all major platforms on May 12th.

**Please support the underground! It’s vital to the future of our genre.**
#WeAreBlessedAltarZine
#TheZineSupportingTheUnderground