West Virginia’s Byzantine is gearing up for the April 7 release of their upcoming fifth album, To Release Is To Resolve. And judging by the first song released from it last month, you should probably be, too. Yesterday, the quartet released the second song from the album, called “The Agonies,” via Decibel Magazine. As vocalist Chris “O.J.” Ojeda revealed to Decibel, the epic track elaborates on the drug culture of the band’s home state and it’s various disastrous effects:
“The Agonies” is a street term for withdrawal symptoms from pain pills. This song is a continuation of the topic of rampant drug abuse in my home state of West Virginia and particularly the area that I was raised in. Last album, we released the video “Soul Eraser,” which focused on the meth problem. “The Agonies” is about prescription pill abuse. My state has the highest mortality rate from RX pill abuse in the country. It is literally crippling our economy. In the chorus, we have the line: “These WV hills can sedate you.” On our debut 11 years ago, our biggest song “Hatfield” had the line: “These WV hills can’t sedate me.” We go back to our first album to let people know that things have changed — for the worse.”
If you’ve still yet to be convinced of the force that is the Byz, listen to the song for yourself in the stream below. And be sure to catch them on their upcoming tour dates. It all kicks off at the fifth annual “South By South Death” SXSW showcase on Wednesday, March 18 at The Dirty Dog in Austin, TX. Sponsored by Metal Sucks, this year’s edition of the always awesome showcase will also feature Norma Jean, Fallujah, Allegaeon, and more.
Tour dates:
03/18 – Austin, TX @ The Dirty Dog
03/19 – Little Rock, AR @ Shooters Bar & Grill
03/20 – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
03/21 – Dayton, OH @ Rockstar Pro Arena
04/04 – Huntington, WV @ The Vclub
04/17 – Beckley, WV @ Muncheez Bar & Grill
04/18 – Parkersburg, WV @ Sixpence Pub & Eatery
