Escuela Grind laid out their latest extreme vision last week through the release of their third full-length, Dreams on Algorithms.
Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at his GodCity recording studio, the record explodes with feverishly splattery aural intensity, one that outright flips the genre-anchoring experiments of the band’s earlier EPs (see 2020’s GGRRIINNDDCCOORREE or this year’s DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL) in favor of an anything-goes experimentalism that brings them from progressively mind-bending brutality to blunt-trauma blasting to unsettlingly clean-sung sludge-grunge.
Here, the band — vocalist Katerina Economou, guitarist Kris Morash, bassist Justin Altamirano and drummer Jesse Fuentes — give us an in-depth look at the sonic parameters of their latest punishing release, and the nightmarish blend of pop-culture night stalkers, video-game warriors and social-media hellscapes that guided them through their Algorithms.
“DOA”
As the namesake of the album and its opening, we knew before we wrote this song what the framework should be. We wanted to start exactly where we ended on our previous album, Memory Theater, and quickly transport the listener to what this new era of Escuela Grind is all about. We approached that quite literally by taking the final riff of [the song] “Memory Theater” to start “DOA,” and abruptly cross into the newest material in a matter of seconds.
“DOA” introduces the theme of the album, derived from the acronym usually meaning “Dead on Arrival” [but transforming] its meaning into “Dreams on Algorithms.” Fitting into our previous canon, the “Algorithms” part came first. On all of our previous records we have written about the societal anxieties of corporate social media structuring our lives, dividing us, forcing unhealthy comparison and forcing us into these reciprocal bubbles. Each song on the album relates to this broad theme in a number of ways.
The next part of the acronym that developed was the “Dreams” portion. Our vocalist and main lyricist has always been fascinated by dream analysis and its associated philosophies. The collective unconscious and these universally experienced dreams provided ways for the record to be relatable, but also allowed for the use of thematically artful language — while still being brutal, of course. When brought together, the theme “Dreams on Algorithms” sets forth a clear message that our intangible social media landscape influences our intangible unconscious space of dreams, which then in turn influences every facet of our mental health and very tangible lives.
“Always Watching You”
We have been playing this song live, probably the longest of all the Dreams on Algorithms material, and we knew for sure that this song needed to be a single. It’s a musically straightforward song, however we really wanted to get cinematic with the lyrics and imagery.
Off the bat, we knew this song was going to be influenced by A Nightmare on Elm Street, tying it directly with the album theme, but we wanted to push the envelope even more. We all have had the experience of scrolling before bedtime and then having dreams based around what we saw in our feed, and we thought that would be so relatable to our fans.
On our previous EP, our vocalist took the common tropes of death-metal lyrics, but wrote them with a decidedly “feminine” twist. We loved that headspace and decided to go even further with that on this track. The goal was to present the most non-threatening person in the most terrifying light, which we found perfectly fit with the “yandere” or stalker girlfriend stereotype. So, the character our vocalist plays is stalking their prey through the likes they give and receive on social media.
We thoughtlessly provide so much information about ourselves online and in the end… who is always watching you? Is the enemy your crazy stalker ex? Is the enemy the corporate overlords who exploit us through our insecurities? Or maybe the enemy is literally our precious phones…
“Constant Passenger”
“Constant Passenger” is a song that was directly born from our touring experiences, in more ways than one.
First, and most notably, the song features guest vocals from the inimitable Vincent Bennett of the Acacia Strain. It was incredibly important to us to have Vincent’s voice on the record because a majority of the band grew up in the Western Massachusetts/ Albany/ Troy area. The Acacia Strain was our beacon for local metalcore and extreme music, with worldwide success that they always returned tenfold to the hometown fans.
We had the honor of being a part of the Acacia Strain’s previous record release, as well as two tours alongside those fine gentlemen, and we learned so much. Their generosity and friendship encouraged us and we truly look up to them as musicians and good people.
The song is directly about chronic pain, and finding the strength to wake up, get out of bed and persevere. Our demanding touring schedule and neglect for our bodies and minds have left each one of us with irreversible damage. Our vocalist suffers from chronic nerve damage and pain, which they refer to as their “Constant Passenger.” Our fans have been so supportive and helpful with tips and encouragement to navigate the pain, and we wanted to put that into a positive song. We want you to scream along with Vincent: “Despite the pain, despite the torment, there’s always more to gain, there’s no wisdom in turning away.”
“Moral Injury”
We wanted a song that was both beatdown and progressive on the record, and “Moral Injury” checks all of our boxes, there. The song comes from a deeply personal place: nightmares of mistakes, misplaced trust and abuse of influence.
The song has become one of the most meaningful to the band. The language takes a decidedly direct, aggressive and acerbic turn, which is somewhat unusual for us. Although it is a really personal story from the heart of our vocalist, we hope that fans will resonate with the passion and vulnerability behind it.
“Concept of God”
“Concept of God” was a collaborative triumph in the studio. The featured riff was developed by our guitarist at sound checks, almost exclusively. It was so catchy that we knew we had to structure a whole song around that one riff.
The instrumentals were set in stone before arriving at GodCity Studios, but the vocal patterns and lyrics were not complete. Together, our vocalist and drummer buckled down and derived a song that addressed the “Algorithm” in a generalized way.
God, the Universe, our connections with each other… these are all concepts that we created somewhere in our human evolution. These procedural points of relationship bring us together, but also severely divide us in this early internet age of instant connection.
“Animus Multiform”
“Animus Multiform” is one the most upbeat tracks on Dreams on Algorithms, and it has a first for Escuela Grind — a killer guitar solo written in the studio. We were massively inspired by the Texas band Iron Age, and this song makes that the most apparent.
Thematically, “Animus Multiform” draws from Jungian Archetypes and dream analysis. The “Animus,” as defined by Jung, is the masculine aspect to the feminine psyche. Most of our band identifies as non-binary or transgender, therefore it meant a lot to us to include a song that could speak to our identities within the overall theme.
The “Multiform” references our desires to be viewed not only for our identity politics, but for our complete being through the art we create and our character. This song is meant to show the duality of ourselves, as we have explored on previous records, in an empowering way. It is definitely a successor to our song “Endowed With Windows” off the Memory Theater album.
“Scorpion”
“Scorpion” was an extremely fun song to write, and everything came together pretty effortlessly.
The song is inspired by our love of the Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack. It entered into our childhood dreams, as it was influential to all of us: introducing many extreme, metal and rock bands. I think most metalheads can relate to being a kid, jamming songs on your Walkman and envisioning yourself as the person performing. So, part of the song is what we would write to be on that Mortal Kombat soundtrack — but as Escuela Grind, of course.
We wanted catchy and simple riffs/hooks that evoked the pain of fighting, but mostly the drive to continue to get back up to fight again. We used Scorpion as the main character and dove head first into the story of the character as they relate to us.
“Planned Obsolescence”
This track showcases an insanely catchy Reggaeton-inspired beat at its core — we love how stripped down and brutal it sounds, while still being bounceable.
After having countless stress dreams [while] confined to our tour van, the theme of the song presented itself to us clearly. As products are made quickly for this “over consumption” market of desire, they are made to fail. They’re made cheaply and dangerously. While this isn’t news to most, if humanity is considered a product, we have certainly given ourselves a shelf-life.
The straightforward anxiety of these concepts fits perfectly within the Dreams on Algorithms framework.
“Toothless”
“Toothless” is the fourth and final single on the album. The song was inspired by the universal dream of having all your teeth fall out, and its analysis [representing] communication, anxiety, loss, inadequacy and the fear of starting new things.
Whereas we used this dream analysis to give the song its “meat,” truthfully, it’s meant to be a tribute to our fearless cat Nero, who passed away in the midst of our touring last year. He was a well-loved, charismatic runt who never backed down, no matter his size or condition. One of our favorite nicknames for him was “Fafuto,” meaning “Toothless.”
Through every writing session as a band, Nero was there claiming his space on our laps and letting his feelings out. Although he left this earth traumatically, he left his mark on us as a band. Escuela Grind has always been a champion for the little guy, the underdog and the marginalized. “Toothless” is a reminder for us, in song, that we must be a presence for those that yearn to be heard.
The riff that is featured throughout the song is huge, and it’s one of our favorites to play. It’s got a real “walk-it-out” type beat, and it was important to us to end the song with a groovy outro, paired with vocal patterns inspired by Judas Priest.
“Turbulence”
We set this song up to take risks that we are evolving into our future sound. The most obvious departure is the inclusion of clean singing.
Writing this album while touring (basically, non-stop), we were receptive and open to the input of fellow musicians we toured with. The clean-singing inspiration came from a tour that we did with Napalm Death in Europe. At the end of the night, we would gather in the bus and blast all types of music. Shane Embury and Napalm Death’s soundperson Simon overheard our vocalist belting out some songs and mentioned that we should seriously consider throwing that into our palette.
The closer we got to Shane, the more we learned about his approach to songwriting. Significantly, the way he is able to write for Napalm Death keeps the band stimulated, heavy, authentically experimental. To us as a band, this is one of the main goals of longevity. So, we knew we were going to try clean singing, and we were open to discovering how that would take shape for us in an authentic way. The idea was even further cemented after a tour with Greg Puciato where he told us how much clean singing can grow our audience and to not be afraid to try.
“Turbulence” presented in itself the opportunity to try a grunge-style approach to the cleans, heavily influenced by all of the Alice in Chains that we had been listening to on the road. We finalized the lyrics and vocal hook the night before we recorded the track and left it up to Kurt Ballou’s judgment whether we should include it in the record. We got a resounding thumbs up not just to include the song, but to make it a single.
But just when you think you have the song figured out, we whip out this atonal, Gorguts-y style verse that leaves no room to question how heavy we intend to remain.
So far, “Turbulence” has been our most popular release and we are so proud of it. So, while we close out this record with surprises and risks, we cannot wait to further push what we love to perform and cast an even wider net.