NEW ALBUM ’THE GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP’ RELEASED 24th FEBRUARY
Venomous
Concept, the hardcore punk band formed by Kevin Sharp of Brutal Truth and Shane
Embury of
Napalm Death
have shared the video for latest single ‘Fractured’.
Bonding over
their love of punk heroes such as Black Flag, GBH and Poison Idea, the duo have
been the core members of the band since 2004 and will release their 5th
album 'The Good Ship Lollipop’ on 24th February. Shane comments,
“I was sitting outside the recording studio in Cambridge on
a summer’s day thinking about this song, lyrically and vocally. We were a few
months into the pandemic and Kevin had gotten into the U.K. to record his
vocals for the Venomous Concept album, which was a relief! I sat there
wondering what was happening in our world. Fiction seemed to have merged with
reality where we all experienced so much stress, so much anxiety. I am not
special—the pandemic affected us all in ways we don’t yet realise.
Music was always my comfort, but during this time my family
needed me to be strong and I really wasn’t. I was breaking apart and trying to
figure out how to put myself back together, and hopefully leave some of the bad
bits behind.
Memories came—my childhood, my parents, my family, my
children, my friends. Then the words to ‘Fractured’ came… I am still piecing
myself back together, trying to be just good enough.”
'The Good
Ship Lollipop’ sees Sharp and Embury joined by fellow Napalm Death member John
Cooke alongside Carl Stokes, former drummer with UK death metal legends Cancer.
‘Having John Cooke of Napalm Death on guitar brought a new variety to the
record, and Shane’s lifelong friend Carl Stokes formerly of the bands Cancer,
Current 93 & The Groundhogs came in on drums to lay down some more solid
rock grooves and old school power” Kevin adds.
The album
was engineered by Piers Mortimer (Deep Purple, Jakko Jakszyk) and produced by
long term friend and colleague Simon Efemey (Paradise Lost, Cancer). Shane
concludes, “It was an amazing fun and creative experience, recording while
there were COVID restrictions. We seem to now only dimly recall the whole
process but this record lives it and breathes it. Kevin then breezed through
U.K. customs in the summer of 2020 to record his vocals at headline music
studios in Cambridge. There friendships were rekindled amidst worldwide
hysteria."
Sharp and
Embury formed the band in 2004 and were joined by Danny Herrera and Buzz
Osborne (The Melvins), who went on to be replaced by Danny Lilker. They have
released 4 albums: Retroactive Abortion (2004), Poisoned Apple (2008), Kick Me
Silly VCIII (2016) and most recently Politics Versus the Erection (2020) on
Season of Mist.
'The Good
Ship Lollipop’ is released in association with Extrinsic Records on 24th
February on the following formats:
Digitally
worldwide via Graphite Records.
CD &
black vinyl in the UK via Graphite Records.
Limited
edition coloured vinyl and cassette in the U.S via Decibel Records.
CD in Japan
via MCR Company.
Pre-order
now: https://linktr.ee/venomousconcept
Venomous
Concept are: Kevin Sharp (vocals), Shane Embury (bass), John Cooke
(guitar), Carl Stokes (drums)
'a gritty,
energetic, and finely crafted platter’ - Angry Metal Guy
'the perfect
means to drown out the tsunami of bullshit pouring through your various media
conduits'
– Blabbermouth