In Care Of Pt 2 premiered exclusively on Short. Fast. Loud. on Wednesday 27th January 2016. A bristling, abrasive but cathartic 4:27 of hard-out punk hardcore goodness. The South East Queensland quintet signed to independent punk / hardcore label Pee Records in 2009.
In addition to having the album to share very soon, the 5-piece has just taken out the AFENDS Fast n Loud competition, with the clothing brand getting behind Driven Fear and funding various filmclips, gear and projects for them.
Driven Fear has shared the stage with punk/hardcore stalwarts such as such as Sick of it All, The Amity Affliction, Shai Hulud, Death Before Dishonor, The Ghost Inside, Pour Habit, Toe To Toe, Break Even, Against and Ignite.
2016 marks the 12th year of Driven Fear and also the follow up to 2011's thought provoking, 'Contender'. 'Freethinker' will be the 4th release through Pee records and builds upon the original mission statement and musical styling of the band. The band wants their fans to know that "With this record, we really wanted to push the boundaries while still being true to what we have always been about".
The album was recorded and mixed by long time friend Sam Johnson (The Smith Street Band, The Bennies, Toe to Toe, Mindsnare) across three different studios and over almost 2 years.
Driven Fear's Chris Hyde said "The writing and recording process for this one was a little different, mainly because we had time and we were never going to release anything until we were all happy with the results. We really wanted to record again with Sam because he is so easy to work with as he knows this genre of music inside out and he understands the direction of the band."
The final stages of the record were completed at Johnson's studio in Melbourne, Holes and Corners. However, a large part of the project was recorded near the bands home in the hinterland of the Gold Coast. This setting helped to establish a reflective mood that ended up forming the underlying tone of the album.
The themes covered in 'Freethinker' are varied. Many of the themes extend ideas from previous recordings, however holistically, the message is one of connectedness and viewing existence macroscopically. "This is not an album about atheism, even though organised religions are a theme covered in the record, it is an album about Free Thought purely and simply and due to all five of us being involved in the writing of the music and the lyrical content, it is about our journey to understand and explore what that free thought actually means."
'Freethinker' is aggressive and insightful Punk/Hardcore for fans of bands in the vein of Comeback Kid, Good Riddance, and Defeater. The record will be available everywhere on Friday February 26.
