Set to release their new album, “Fear Itself”, next week (March 11th) via Metal Blade Records worldwide, Anglo-Chilean thrashers CRIMINAL have now launched a lyric video for the track “Animals to Gods” online. To watch the video – and to pre-order the record in various formats – please visit: metalblade.com/criminal

CRIMINAL‘s Anton Reisenegger (vocals/guitar) comments: “This song has been one of our favourites since we wrote it. It’s got many different sections, yet it flows like a stream of lava. The lyrics are about the human species reaching the pinnacle of evolution and what a one-way street that means in terms of the environment and other species. It’s based on the book ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind’ by Yuval Noah Harari, and I do realize it is unusual to base a song on a scientific book, but it was a real eye-opener for me when I read it, and I can only recommend it to anyone remotely concerned about the future of life on our planet. Despite the heavy subject matter, I don’t think the lyrics are too heady or pretentious, but rather menacing and apocalyptic.

Costin [Chioreanu, the artist also responsible for the album cover] did an absolutely fantastic job in translating the words and vibe of the song into images. He did it in record time as well, and we didn’t ask him to change anything when we first saw it, as we thought it was absolutely perfect.”

For another preview of “Fear Itself”, be sure to check out the following previously released singles:
–”Down Driven“: metalblade.com/criminal
–”Shock Doctrine“: soundcloud.com

Recorded at CRIMINAL bassist Danny Biggin’s HVR Studios in Suffolk, UK, with a “no bullshit” approach to recording, the band purposely avoided the vices of modern metal production such as samples, quantizing and amp simulators. The striking artwork by renowned Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu (At The Gates, Arch Enemy, Mayhem, etc.) perfectly represents the bleak, dystopian atmosphere of the lyrics, which denounce warmongering, misinformation, exploitation and other ills of modern society. A metal band with a hardcore attitude, Criminal‘s longevity is a testament to their honesty and passion; they’re in it for all the right reasons.

“Fear Itself” track-listing
1. Intro
2. Down Driven
3. False Flag Attack
4. Shock Doctrine
5. The Needle and Knife
6. Scream of Consciousness
7. Summoning the Apocalypse
8. The One Who Speaks at Night
9. Animals to Gods
10. Deep in the Rot
11. Wasted Youth
12. Carne Molida

Criminal line-up:
Anton Reisenegger – vocals/guitars
Sergio Klein – guitars
Dan Biggin – bass
Zac O’Neil – drums

Criminal online:
https://www.facebook.com/Criminal.Band
http://www.criminal1.com/home
https://www.youtube.com/user/criminalchile