Escuela Grind have announced their new album, Dreams on Algorithms, is set to arrive on October 18 via MNRK Heavy. Recorded at GodCity studio with producer Kurt Ballou and mastered by Nick Townsend, the forthcoming record follows their 2022 debut, Memory Theater.
Alongside the album announcement, Escuela Grind has unveiled a Michael Jari DAvidson-directed video for their latest single, “Turbulence.”
Vocalist Katerina Economou comments:
“We wanted to write an album that identifies what it’s like to consume in this era we live in: what we receive through our phones, the social media landscape, and personalized algorithms, and how it is translated by our subconscious. I think most people can relate to something in their online sphere infecting their dreams. This transfer was something we really wanted to expand on, and all of the songs have themes relating to dream analysis and technology.”
Drummer Jesse Fuentes adds:
“I had the idea for the “Turbulence” title during a plane ride where I thought I was actually gonna die. My mind was fixated on landing and playing the next show. It helped me cope, and then it kept happening on a couple of flights after that. My last in-person conversation with Napalm Death’s Shane Embury was very emotional; he suggested we add clean vocals after he overheard Katerina doing some clean singing on the tour bus (after shows, on our winter 2023 European tour with NxDx, everyone would sing along together. it really was magical). The vocal hook and melody on “Turbulence” was created a day before vocals were to be recorded at GodCity. We took that airplane experience, and wrote some straightforward, but meaningful lyrics.”
Economou continues:
“It will be immediately obvious when you first hear this song that it is a departure for us. We wanted to take a risk with “Turbulence”, and after performing so many live shows over the last year we were ready to compile all that influence. The clean singing may take some people off-guard coming from a grind/hardcore band, but after touring with Napalm Death, we realized we wanted to incorporate that aspect into our music in a similar way. We definitely wanted a grungy, catchy chorus to sing at all of our upcoming festival appearances, and I hope the fans like the song as much as we do.
Most of “Always Watching You” was written in a practice space by Jesse and Krissy, and refined during soundchecks we had over the year, I’ve had this desire to write a song where I could portray the obsessive-stalker-girl archetype through lyrics for a while. Although not physically threatening, it’s really interesting that society is so terrified of this stereotype. In “Always Watching You”, I wanted this fantastical, Nightmare on Elm Street-style imagery that was rooted in the gore and horror of death metal. Themes of parasocial relationships, anxieties from social media, and an omnipresent algorithm are strongly observed in this song and throughout the entire album.”‘
Watch the clip below and pre-order the album here:
Track List:
01) DOA
02) Always Watching You
03) Constant Passenger
04) Moral Injury
05) Concept of God
06) Animus Multiform
07) Scorpion
08) Planned Obsolescence
09) Toothless
10) Turbulence
Tour Dates:
07/10 Karlsruhe, DE @ TBA
07/11 Neukirchen-Vluyn, DE @ Dong Open Air
07/12 Munchen, DE @ Kulturzentrum Backstage
07/13 Velenje, SI @ Vratolom Open Air
07/14 Bratislava, SI @ TBA
07/23 Eindhoven, NL @ Dynamo
07/30 Lindau, DE @ Club Vaudeville
08/01 Leipzig, DE @ Soltmann
08/02 Berlin, DE @ Resist To Exist Festival
08/03 Granichen, CH @ Open Air Granichen
08/04 Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans, FR @ Sylak Open Air
08/08 Jaromer, CZ @ Brutal Assault
08/09 Dortmund, DE @ FZW
08/10 Vinelz, CH @ Openair Am Bierlersee
08/13 Copenhagen, DN @ Stengade
08/14 Hannover, DE @ Bei Chez Heinz
08/17 Moderna, IT @ Pignoletto Fest
08/24 Malmo, SE @ Malmo Massacre
Feature Image Photo Credit: D. Torrieri
