The Hive story starts back in 2014 when guitarist/vocalist Morgan Carpenter (Oxygen Tank, Sawblade, Prison Shank) and drummer Mike Paradise (Antiverse, Threadbare, Bloodline) wanted to explore a sound influenced by D-beat, Pacific Northwestern hardcore, and the classic crust of their hometown of Minneapolis.
Keeping a steady release and gig schedule, Hive has already dropped two full-length records, including 2019's devastating Most Vicious Animal. While the COVID lockdown put a pause on their touring schedule, the group stayed active, recording a live set for Cvlt Nation that resulted in the Live Viral Armageddon cassette that came out in 2020.
Now that things are (kinda) back to normal, Hive is returning with their third studio album, a motherfucker called Spiritual Poverty. Recorded May through November 2021 by Hive guitarist Dan Jensen, it's one of the heavier records in the ripping hardcore space I've heard this year.
Check out a track called "So It Is Done" below and look out for the rest of the album coming later this summer:
Guitarist/vocalist Morgan Carpenter shares some thoughts on the track:
"The musicality of 'So It Is Done' was the introduction of Dan Jensen, the fourth member to join Hive after the recording of our previous record, Most Vicious Animal. Dan, already being thoroughly familiar with Hive’s sound (he was the engineer who recorded and mixed both MVA and Spiritual Poverty) brought with him a technicality and precision that the band had not been able to reign in on any of our previous work.
"Dan penned the bulk of the riffs himself on this song and helped highlight the anxiety and lawlessness that would make up the songs on the record."
Morgan continues: "'So It Is Done' lyrically is about the relationship between master and slave in the American political system. While far from a new concept, it had never become so evident as it was in the late 2010s that a small group of (most commonly rich and white) men are able to control the billions of minds that unknowingly prop them up. The phrase 'rich off the work of the poor'' sums it up perfectly, but what makes this era stand out is the mental and emotional manipulation needed to make it happen. What’s worse, is it makes no difference to the man/men in power in the end.
"The line in the song 'The bad actors, and the victim matches / Directionless slashes wrapped in red and blue / He holds obedient and detractor underwater alike / His foot on the back of our heads' is a testament to the concept of whether you are with them or against them, you’ll be crushed under the iron fist all the same, if that is what’s necessary to benefit the few.
"It is written from a place of sheer hopelessness that even if we operate our lives outside of the perceived 'system,' we all end up swallowed up by it in the end. Livelihoods simply end up as political fodder and half the population gladly applauds the downfall."
Morgan closes out his explanation: "The title/phrase 'So It Is Done' is meant to underscore when a decision is made knowingly disregarding the risks, downfall and casualties of doing so. As in, it carries great detriment to others, but it shall be done regardless."
Spiritual Poverty is out August 19th via Translation Loss Records (pre-order).
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Tagged: hive
