Filth Is Eternal guitarist Brian McClelland walks us through every track on their frantic, collaborative, sensationally raw new album.
Stay Melted
A pure banger, front to back. Some of my favorite lyrics Lis has ever written. “To want to injure is human, to want to kill is divine.” Come on, that’s hard AF. I loved coming out of the gate swinging with a riff and message like that.
Long Way
‘Long Way’ started as a single riff, but came together with the whole team. The group found the structure, and our friend Lauren Lavin added supporting harmonies in the chorus.
This was also the first track to feature our new FILTH EQ+ pedal that we developed for these sessions. The analog saturation and overall thickness came from home hi-fi circuits that we hot-rodded for hardcore. Super proud of how this turned out.
Hellfire
‘Hellfire’ started when we would meet at our local haunt for Chess Night. We would talk about offensive strategies that lead to the pummeling attack of the rhythm section. For the lyrics, we talked about the concept of the world lit by fire, and how it’s our duty to shine the light we’ve got. The lead on this really nailed the song’s peak.
Acetylene
To me, the riffs of ‘Acetylene’ were about walking to work in the predawn hours, taking in the physical sensation of Seattle building itself anew with or without us. The welders were up building frames for structures faster than we knew what was happening. The guitars were a frenetic interpretation of that feeling, reflecting a chunky foundation, and finishing with high-wire melodies that felt like power lines coming down around us.
The lyrics, “the whole scene’s burning in the street”, is like watching your friends make mistakes and fail each other. Sometimes people learn, sometimes they don’t.
Weather & Rose
‘Weather & Rose’ was the band firing on all cylinders in the room. We took a single note riff and built it into one of the most emotional moments on the record. Another goal on this track was to reference some of our favourite Japanese hardcore bands like Envy and Heaven in Her Arms. ‘Weather & Rose’ to me was always about the storm and something beautiful that grows afterwards.
Desire
Initially, we looked at ‘Desire’ as an opener, but we felt that it really closed the A-side of the vinyl well when trying different track lists. Lis’ lyrics really hit with lines like “Alone, I feel desire.” Gina’s [Gleason, Baroness)]vocals support the chorus, and the closing is another moment of euphoria in an otherwise minced out slammer.
Total War
‘Total War’ is about violence as care in the age of class warfare. We talked about the trial of Luigi Mangione while writing this, and how one act of defiance led to more insurance approvals than any other recent appeals. We were dealing with our own insurance hell, and as soon as the news broke, we no longer had to spend hours on the phone pushing for already approved treatments. Liberator now, blow off some steam.
Bad Faith
‘Bad Faith’ was built on the road with Darkest Hour. We initially assembled the riffs as a warm-up exercise during sound check but kept them in rotation as they fit the amount of aggression we had for this subject matter. Lis used this to push against Christo-fascism, creeping into the minds of the inattentive through tradition and automated social pressures. Our bassist Logan (Denial of Life, Wyrm, Gatecreeper) handled the relentless guitars with razor-sharp precision.
Outbreak
Pulling from noise rock and alternative, ‘Outbreak ‘came together with our friend and frequent collaborator, Mike Sparks, in the vocal tracking phase. When the ground is spinning underneath your feet, let pleasure guide the way.
So Below
‘So Below’ was one of my favourites to put together for ‘Impossible World’. Pushing the energy to the top, and featuring a solo by Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy, we got to dig into the d-beat for the peak of the second half of the album. By using blocks of repetition, we got to play with the falling apart feeling as Lis fields a visitor. As above, so below, we’ll be here when you call.
Slipstream
‘Slipstream’ was written for Dad, who just passed away from stage 4 cancer. It’s a song title off of Jethro Tull’s Aqualung–he loved Ian Anderson. I just felt totally messed up in the wake of him leaving this space. Everyone kept saying it will get easier, I’m not sure it ever will, or that I want it to.
Skorpio
‘Skorpio’ is the heavy closer that we always wanted for this album. We knew this would be a special track, but didn’t know how it would turn out until the day of recording. Everything came together, and it ended up being one of the most potent vibes in ‘Impossible World’.’ The desperation and melancholia weave together through layers of ringing guitar textures and pull from real experiences of life in between. Lyrics cover the fringes of existence, sleeping in the car, not always knowing what comes next. It’s a reminder of what we’ve all been through, as we move forward.
