NEQUIENT: Decibel Magazine Streams Collective Punishment EP By Chicago Hardcore Act; Record Out Friday Through Nefarious Industries + Band Preorders To Support Equal Justice Initiative

November 1, 2021 Infrared Magazine Music News, News, Press Releases Comments Off

photos by Nicolas Côté

Decibel Magazine is currently hosting an exclusive stream of Collective Punishment, the new EP by Chicago’s NEQUIENT. Set to see release through November Nefarious Industries this Friday, the band is donating all presale proceeds to the Equal Justice Initiative.

Building on a foundation of thrashing d-beat, NEQUIENT draws influences from a broad spectrum of aggressive styles including grindcore, crust, sludge, death metal, black metal, and noise rock. The result is a uniquely punishing sound that emphasizes percussive intensity and razor-sharp hooks.

Collective Punishment features new tracks “Collective Punishment” and “Strange Death Of Kings,” produced by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Recording (Weekend Nachos, Like Rats) and mixed by Sanford Parker at Hypercube (Voivod, Yob, Eyehategod, Lord Mantis), as well as “First Casualty” and “Coins For The Ferryman” recorded live October 20th, 2019 by Alan Sifuentes at Valdosta DIY House and mixed by Patrick Conahan. The EP was mastered by Collin Jordan at the Boiler Room and completed with artwork and logo by M. G. Miller.

Vocalist Jason Kolkey states, “As NEQUIENT emerges from pandemic-induced hibernation, we wanted to get a release out there that reminds people of who we are and previews where we’re headed. From the live tracks, you’ll get an uncut dose of our performances from late 2019, the last time we were able to hit the road before all hell broke loose. The two studio tracks offer a sampling of the varied sounds you’ll hear on our upcoming album: That means a truckload of blasts, hooks, d-beats, and noise, topped off with a lot of screaming about the dire state of the world around us. If that sounds like your kind of ride, the Collective Punishment EP is an excellent chance to climb on board.”

Alongside their advance stream of the EP and an interview with Kolkey, Decibel writes in part, “For those who worship at the altar of nonstop metallic hardcore and the aforementioned D-beat, Collective Punishment is a shot of pure adrenaline.”

**Stream NEQUIENT’s entire Collective Punishment EP first now at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.**

Nefarious Industries will release Collective Punishment in a limited cassette run and digitally this Friday, November 5th. Find preorders including merch bundles and more at the label webshop HERE. All proceeds from the band’s presales will be donated to Equal Justice Initiative.

NEQUIENT will also be performing at the Peace Simulation Midwest Pop Up Showcase in Chicago on December 4th, joining Blood Incantation, Primitive Man, Inter Arma, Indian, Yautja and more.

NEQUIENT Live:
12/04/2021 Reggies – Chicago, IL @ Peace Simulation Midwest Pop Up Showcase [info]

Formed in 2014, NEQUIENT’s first official release was 2015’s Infinite Regress EP, the start of a longstanding collaboration with producer Pete Grossmann (Immortal Bird, Something Is Waiting, Warforged) at Bricktop Recording in Chicago. Following a few personnel shifts, the group settled on its current configuration and forged a debut full-length, Wolves At The Door, issued in 2018 by Nefarious Industries, and NEQUIENT set out on a campaign of DIY touring in support of the album, playing every dive bar, basement, community center, banquet hall, and benefit festival that would have them. Those travels culminated in a late 2019 run with Danish avant-hardcore technicians, labelmates Oxx.

A few months later, NEQUIENT reconvened at Bricktop to track a new album, once again with Grossmann, not realizing that the global pandemic would soon slow all further progress to a maddening crawl. In 2021, the band will at last make its comeback with the Collective Punishment EP, which acts as a harbinger for their second full-length, Darker Than Death Or Night.

Watch for additional intel on Darker Than Death Or Night to follow directly after the release of Collective Punishment, as the LP is slated for release in the first quarter of 2022 in conjunction with US tour dates.