…And we’re back! Let’s recap from yesterday’s Profile real quick. Northern Maine’s Manic Abraxas are releasing their fourth album on August 2nd, titled Skinformation. It’s going to be awesome – a dystopian ride through sonic chaos. If you’re familiar (and you should be by now), you’d know just how dark and frenetic their fusion of punk and doom is, something they’ve been exploring and experimenting with since their start in 2012. This latest album promises to take things up another notch still, and today we’re thrilled to premiere the latest offering from that collection. “TranscendX” is available for your streaming pleasure below, so once you feel as prepared for it as you can be, take the jump and smash that play button…

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Pretty wild, right? Before I share a few of my thoughts, let’s get guitarist/vocalist/synth player Dallas Seger’s take on “TranscendX” first:

Descend into the void, where reality fractures and the simulation accelerates. Our new single, “TranscendX”, is a high-velocity dive into the abyss, fueled by chaotic D-beat punk and melodic dissonance. Imagine a reality blur where you can’t tell if you’re in a simulation or not; a sinking vague feeling that another life or reality exists just out of your grasp.

That all tracks. The juxtaposition of the deliberate (and deliciously harsh) rhythmic march alongside those varied leads that seem to continuously grow and elevate as these five minutes ride on really stands out to me. The vocals? Jarring in a way that is somehow both exceptional… and appropriate at the same time. There’s something distinct about the Manic Abraxas sound – these competing styles colliding unapologetically within a notably hollow, gloomy atmosphere – and how it all comes together here is especially compelling, successfully throwing us into the ruthless technological future they’ve created.

Between this and the previously released opening title track, we’re starting to get a little bit of a sense of what’s to come in a little over a week. Of course, there is still much to explore in this gritty cyperpunk world, but one thing is for certain: It’s going to be an absolute ride.

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Skinformation is out August 2nd, a week from Friday. For more information on Manic Abraxas, give them a follow on Instagram or Facebook.