Pure Bliss has to be one of the most consistent bands I’ve interviewed because I can always expect some sick new tunes from these guys soon after the new year. 2023 was a great year for Syracuse’s designated heavy hitters, putting out their 3rd EP, The Age of Judgement, in April, and touring around the East Coast with Regions from North Carolina, and also hitting Canada with Sick Minds and Edict on separate tours.
The eventful year also found Pure Bliss returning to the studio to track their next record. Torture Realm, as it’s appropriately titled, will be the bands 4th EP since forming in 2021. The EP shows the band moving their heavy sound into an even more ignorant and destructive approach.
Torture Realm will also be Pure Bliss' first release since signing with Upstate New York-based label Unbeaten Records. Their roster also houses such bands as Wisdom & War, Edict, D-Bloc, and Cell.
Along with announcing their signing to the label, Pure Bliss is also debuting their new single, “On the Wheel,” the first taste we get from Torture Realm. The track features guest vocals from Trae Roberts of Mouth for War and showcases the band at their most feral. Bursting into your speakers with the opening switch between bouncing and blast beat drums accompanied by Daemon’s thick riffs and Brandon’s towering vocals it’s like they’ve come into the race sprinting:
“I just sent him a voice recording of me mouthing the opening,” Brandon explained on the inclusion of such an energetic opener which has probably become the most common explanation I’ve heard recently in how bands make riffs. You may laugh but it’s been effective across the board.
Daemon explained that the writing was influenced by some of what the band had drawn from before but that he wants to challenge himself further. “I’ve been trying to get better at the pinch harmonics which I do for ‘On the Wheel.' So, I’ve been moving away from the Machine Head harmonics and into stuff like Kublai Khan. Less slow and violent and more thrashy and violent.”
Lyrically and structurally, Pure Bliss is trying to lean into making their songs have more opportunity for crowd interaction and hammer the lyrics and breakdowns into the listeners' brain. “I noticed with a lot of my favorite bands like Hatebreed and Conservative Military Image, you can listen to those songs once and the next time you hear them you’ll know most of the lyrics and when the breakdown is coming. So we want to structure our stuff to be a memorable experience for the crowd,” Brandon explained.
Pure Bliss will be releasing Torture Realm in the coming months, along with a merch drop that will include a new hoodie. “We’re hoping to have a vinyl drop for this one, we were really proud of The Age of Judgement vinyl drop so we’d love to have this one pressed as well,” stated Brandon from the band.
"On the Wheel" dropping on streaming outlets tomorrow (Feb. 9th) via Unbeaten Records.
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Pure Bliss on social media: Instagram
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2024 Hardcore Playlist
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