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Dance Gavin Dance to drop ninth album, 'Afterburner,' on April 24th

Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

And it's first single, 'Prisoner,' is a confirmed banger!

And first single 'Prisoner' is a confirmed banger. 

Dance Gavin Dance are one of the most prolific bands in the current scene. Following 2018's monumentally good 'Artificial Selection,' the band released one of their finest songs, 'Head Hunter' early last year, followed shortly after by its sister single, 'Blood Wolf.' For most bands, that's more than enough released material to tour on for at least two years - which this Sacramento outfit did do for their last record, hitting Australia up last March - but Dance Gavin Dance don't seem content in slowing down.

Because today, we saw the announcement of their upcoming ninth record, 'Afterburner.' Seriously, where do these guys even have the time for all of this!? Either they're in an awful record contract that they need to get out of ASAP, have too many ideas and far too much free time, or they really just love their fans and refuse to stop for even a second. (Or maybe it's all of the above?)

[caption id="attachment_1108786" align="aligncenter" width="760"] The cover for 'Afterburner' - another great piece from artist Mattias Adolfsson.[/caption]

'Prisoner' is another perfect slice of DGD's funky, progressive-rock post-hardcore pie. What with Tilian Pearson belting out some ascending melody runs in the cool verses, exploring a slightly lower range than what he normally does, and screamer Jon Mess delivering another blessing dosage of nonsensical, monotone screamed sections. As for the rest of the band, Will Swan pumps out his trade-marked expressive and overly-colorful, foot-stomping guitar grooves that the rhythm section of bassist Tim Feerick and drummer Matt Mingus then lock into so damn well. Not only that, but this new single also features Royal Coda guitar wiz, Sergio Medina. Because why the hell not?

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This band knows their sound very well, but they also know how to add little flourishes, like the blissful guitar tremolo that skyrockets over the song in the bridge or the looped riffs and licks there afterward. Dance Gavin Dance's prolific nature is one thing, but their consistency, quality control, artistic integrity, and sense of humor is a whole beast entirely. It's never been a better time to be a DGD fan than now.

'Afterburner' drops April 24th via Rise Records/BMG Australia.