San Jose death metallers Ripped To Shreds have announced a new album, 劇變 (Jubian) (which translates to "upheavel"), due October 14 via Relapse, marking their first album for the label (pre-order). The album was recorded and mixed by guitarist/vocalist Andrew Lee in his home studio, and then mastered by Damian Herring, and the first taste is "Reek of Burning Freedom." It's a ruthless dose of death metal, with blasts of grindcore, plenty of "OUGH!"s, and a very tasty guitar solo. Lee says it's "'an anti-war song' that incites to remind its discerning listers of the the United States’ 'indiscriminate bombing' campaign waged on North Korea during the Korean War." Listen and check out the Kevin Burleigh-directed video below.
The album artwork depicts a statue of Taiwanese sea goddess Mazu, and Lee says, "I felt like it was important to have something standing in for Chinese people," adding that a driving force behind the band has been "to increase the visibility of ABCs [American-born Chinese] in extreme metal by being very blatantly Chinese."