Mid-December is always a time where we’re all both looking back and looking ahead, caught up in an annual practice of recapping the year that was and anticipating what’s to come in the year ahead. But what if there was no year ahead, and our actions of the present and recent past are interfering with the immediate future? “Annihilate Tomorrow”, the latest single and video from Boston progressive metal band Das Muerte, calls into question our preparation for what’s ahead as a result of the decisions we’re making today.
True to the veteran band’s form, “Annihilate Tomorrow” is a toxic speedball of a tune, mixing elements of modern metal with mid-to-late-’90s-era stuff that echoes the grittier sides of Faith No More and Deftones. And like Das Muerte’s prior visuals, this one tells a story that extends beyond the frenetic sounds.
“‘Annihilate Tomorrow’ is about the recruitment of our young generation to the army under false pretenses, a promise of service and patriotism but the reality of fighting wars for corporate profit and greed,” Das Muerte state. “In the video, our young soldier is recruited by the US Army and ends up in a senseless war for no apparent reason. Trapped under gun fire, our protagonist cracks under the pressure and the horrors of war, thinking about his loved ones left back home, he goes on a rampage and ends up committing acts that violate his personal sense of morals and ethics, coming back a broken man, while the ‘government’ (illustrated by the young kid) plays with their army as if they were meaningless toys.”
“Annihilate Tomorrow” is a taste of more to come from Das Muerte, who are finalizing another new single and preparing to launch a full-length sometime in the summer. Of course, that’s if 2020 arrives at all.