DRUGS OF FAITH: Virginia Trio With Enemy Soil And Agoraphobic Nosebleed Member To Release Asymmetrical LP On Selfmadegod Records/Malokul February 21st; “Gas Mask” Single + Preorders Posted

photo by Ivan Khilko

Northern Virginia-based trio DRUGS OF FAITH has unveiled the details for their long-awaited third LP, Asymmetrical, confirming the record for release February 21st through Selfmadegod Records and Malokul.

DRUGS OF FAITH embodies guitarist/vocalist Richard Johnson (Enemy Soil, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), bassist Ivan Khilko (Immanent Voiceless), and drummer Ethan Griffiths (Embra), who create a dense foundation of rock/punk intensified by grindcore elements. It’s been nearly six years since their Decay EP dropped, and nearly fourteen years since the release of their second LP, Corroded, but DRUGS OF FAITH begins 2025 with the crushing new Asymmetrical full-length.

Asymmetrical packs ten tracks into twenty-one minutes, some of which date back to before the pandemic and others that were written and demoed during the lockdowns and since. Asymmetrical was chosen as the title since the record doesn’t follow a solitary mission statement or lyrical theme; rather, it encapsulates a variety of different directions and themes Like the Corroded LP, Asymmetrical contains a noise track, an instrumental, and a cover song, yet the new songs and the production are quite varied from Corroded. The lyrics to “Desert War Eternal” were written by J.R. Hayes (Pig Destroyer, Enemy Soil). “Drones” contains ideas from an unreleased Enemy Soil song that were resurrected and put through the DRUGS OF FAITH filter. The song “Essential” is a cover of a defunct European band called DrDoom (pre- Teethgrinder), who DRUGS OF FAITH played shows with while touring Europe years ago.

Asymmetrical was recorded at Developing Nations by Kevin Bernsten (Integrity, Full Of Hell, Magrudergrind), who noted during tracking was that the record sounds like, “a deranged rock album.”

With the lead Asymmetrical single “Gas Mask,” Richard Johnson writes, “This is one of the songs on the record that has a lot of elements, showing some of the different influences and styles we pull from. Lyrically, it starts on one path, jumps onto another one, and then skips back to the first path. We decided quickly that this should be the first track released from Asymmetrical.”

Stream DRUGS OF FAITH’s “Gas Mask” now at YouTube HERE and Bandcamp HERE and HERE.

Asymmetrical will be released on February 21st. Find preorders for the CD and other merch at the Selfmadegod Records webshop HERE, preorders for the 12” grey vinyl limited to 100 copies on Malokul HERE, and digital preorders at Bandcamp HERE and HERE.

Asymmetrical Track Listing:
1. Opening
2. Desert War Eternal
3. Drones
4. Microchip
5. Divestment
6. Gas Mask
7. The Void
8. The Next 100 Years
9. Essential (DrDoom cover)
10. Conspiratorial

Additional singles, live dates, and more will be posted surrounding the release of the album.

Formed in 2002, DRUGS OF FAITH quickly released several demos and a song on a Terrorizer Magazine compilation CD before signing with Selfmadegod Records who released their eponymous debut album in 2005, which took them to Europe for their first tour with Blood I Bleed in 2007, the same year they released their split with Antigama.

In 2011, DRUGS OF FAITH released their second album, Corroded, which appeared on best-of-2011 lists from Decibel Magazine, Invisible Oranges, Pitchfork, and MetalSucks. Two years later, their Architectural Failures EP made it onto best-of-2013 lists including Washington City Paper’s Best Music Of D.C., Hellbound, American Aftermath, and more.

DRUGS OF FAITH landed a slot on Decibel Magazine’s flexi series with a cover of Sacrifice’s classic “Re-Animation” in 2014, then teamed up with labelmates Antigama for a tour of the U.S. East Coast in 2015, also releasing a split 7” with Cloud Rat that year. Their Decay EP was released in 2019. Decibel wrote, “think of them as the world’s blast-friendliest noise rock band,” while No Echo described, “sections that jump out at you with a twisted hookiness that only top-notch bands in the grind realm can create.”

DRUGS OF FAITH:
Ivan Khilko – bass
Ethan Griffiths – drums
Richard Johnson – guitar, vocals

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The post DRUGS OF FAITH: Virginia Trio With Enemy Soil And Agoraphobic Nosebleed Member To Release Asymmetrical LP On Selfmadegod Records/Malokul February 21st; “Gas Mask” Single + Preorders Posted first appeared on Earsplit Compound.