What we know over at Revolver is that it’s been a while since we’ve heard new music from nu-core oddballs Tallah. That changes today (April 2nd), however, as the Pennsylvania-bred wildcards have just delivered a heavy-grooved beater called “What we know,” which precedes a forthcoming album titled Primeval: Obsession // Detachment.
“What we know” is Tallah’s first original song to be released since the fall of 2023, and it’s a zany whirlwind of Korn-grown grooves, slick and slippery bass work from prog progeny Max Portnoy, talkbox guitar solos, mega-shred, screamed-and-soulful vocals, turntablist toughness and orchestral breakdowns.
“The amount of experimentation on this track paved the road for the tone of the whole record,” Portnoy said in a statement. “From performing the first half of the song on acoustic guitars, to layering trap-metal 808’s over a string quartet with dissonant plucks in the chorus, to a trading guitar solo with a talkbox and a slide, you can find so many fun tools we incorporated, without it feeling disjointed.”
He continued: “To have all that experimentation, in a driving and energetic track with a massive chorus, made for my favorite piece of work yet. It was a no-brainer to start the record with this one.”
The video is likewise a smorgasbord of neon whimsy, band performances and interpretive dance. You can catch it all up above.
As for Primeval: Obsession // Detachment, the album was recorded live in the studio with producer Josh Schroeder, a move made to capture Tallah in their “purest, most unhinged form.” Vocalist Justin Bonitz likewise recorded his parts in one unbroken, continuous take.
Notably, the sessions also found Portnoy fully moving away from his initial role as Tallah’s drummer to embrace his rhythm-stringing. Drums were handled by Joel McDonald.
Primeval: Obsession // Detachment is reportedly a concept album set on an alien planet, where two travelers — a nurse and an assassin — are “pushed to the brink of their morality by the same mysterious group of beings.” It’s added that the record weighs in on themes of “belief, identity, and loyalty.”
The album is our September 5th via Earache Records, though it’s already up for pre-order over here.
Primeval: Obsession // Detachment tracklisting
05:01
What we know
augmented
as fate undoes
my primeval obsession
la|cuna
A primeval detachment
undone by fate
depleted
what we want
07:09