For over a decade and a half, Cloud Nothings have remained a consistent and vital force within the indie rock landscape. However, the band is now looking to expand their sonic horizons. Having recently signed with Pure Noise, a label deeply rooted in the post-hardcore scene, the group is set to release their latest project, What Kind of Hell Did You Survive?, an album that leans heavily into metal and aggressive rock textures.
While the band is known for their indie roots, their 2012 classic Attack On Memory already hinted at their capacity for heaviness. With drummer Jayson Gerycz’s powerhouse performance style, this transition feels like a natural evolution rather than a departure. The lead single, “Death Keeps Me Alive,” serves as a perfect introduction to this new era—a doomy, riff-driven track that draws inspiration from the likes of Cave-In and the Wipers, even flirting with black metal aesthetics in its closing moments.
The album is our attempt to pay homage to the heavy rock music we’ve been listening to over the last few years. Some pretty direct and popular musical influences on the tracks are Queens of the Stone Age, Motörhead, Earth, and Electric Wizard. We were feeling a little pigeonholed in the indie rock world and wanted to make a change in our sound that revealed a different facet of our interests and abilities…
Lyrically, I was inspired by a lot of more political metal and hardcor. The songs deal with cruel governments, the importance of community, and occasionally a general rage at the state of the world…
Lyrically, “Death Keeps Me Alive” is from the point of view of a lurking evil power that never gets fully defeated in the world and feeds off of death, war, and hate, which is kind of a fun generically “metal” thing to sing about. I hope people hear this song and get excited for what the rest of the record could possibly sound like, and recognize that this is going to be a new version of Cloud Nothings that didn’t really have a precedent prior to this recording.
Frontman Dylan Baldi notes that the lyrical themes of the record are equally intense, focusing on political unrest, community, and the state of the world. The accompanying music video, directed by Alex Scalzo-Brown, captures the spooky, high-energy atmosphere of the track. Fans can look forward to the full release on January 29 via Pure Noise.
