meth. have shared the title track from their forthcoming sophomore album, SHAME, with an accompanying music video. The Chicago, IL experimental metal and noise rock project’s second full-length is seven tracks of blistering, visceral agony, and is set for release via Prosthetic Records on February 2. meth. will be celebrating the SHAME‘s release with a gallery exhibition and live event at Thalia Hall in Chicago, IL on February 2 – tickets available here.

Stream Shame via Apple Music | TIDAL | Deezer | Bandcamp and Spotify
Pre-order Shame here.

Speaking on the single and music video release .meth’s Seb Alvarez (vocals) comments: “Shame was a hard song to write. It pulls a lot from personal experiences and realizations of concealing toxic behaviors from your loved ones while confronting your own selfish behaviors.”

SHAME‘s title hangs heavy throughout the duration of the songs themselves, a weight around the neck of its creators. Inspired by a tumultuous time for vocalist Seb, the album is an uncomfortable listen as he grapples with then-undiagnosed bipolar and unchecked addiction issues. Whilst the themes of shame, deception and trauma are not new to meth., they have previously been dressed up with a fictional veneer. This time around, Alvarez lays his vulnerabilities bare, offering up the darkest parts of himself.

The oppressive burden of shame, galvanised by behaviours rooted in addiction and mental illness seeps into the anxiety-inducing atmosphere of the album. Alvarez chronicles the differing types of shame and rock bottom feelings from Catholic guilt instilled in him from a young age, through to the more recent deceptions of concealing the effects of alcoholism. As he details his constant internal battles and downward spirals, everything is channelled into the creative process. The result is stark, unyielding and raw.

For the first time, the band wrote as a unit, indicating a shift in focus. Alvarez focussed on the lyrical and thematic elements of the album and created more room for his bandmates to thrive. The ominous sound of SHAME is littered with experimental flourishes, as meth. lean into noise rock and metal simultaneously. There is an industrial bleakness to the album that propels it along, at some points as though through gritted teeth. Operating under a remit that included avoiding a reliance on riffs, meth. instead let rhythm – specifically their drums – carry the weight and forward motion of their compositions. Recorded in winter 2022-23 by Zack Farrer at Rose Raft in New Douglas, IL, the album was later mixed and mastered by Colin Marston.

The album artwork depicts a child holding hands with two parental figures, her face tipped upwards with a joyful smile. Created by Alvarez, the image is designed to represent the bliss you feel as a child, before the weight of responsibility, guilt, shame and more come creeping into your life. Once gone, that blissful ignorance is impossible to restore in full. SHAME is a paean to that lost innocence, a lament for what follows.

SHAME tracklist:

1. Doubt
2. Compulsion
3. Blush
4. Give In
5. Cruelty
6. Shame
7. Blackmail

Upcoming meth. tour dates:
February 01 – X-Ray Arcade – Cudahy, WI #
February 02 – CHICAGO, IL | THALIA HALL #%
February 03 – Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI #%
February 05 – Baby G – Toronto, ON #
February 06 – Lager House – Detroit, MI #
February 16 – Healer – Indianapolis, IN +
February 17 – Hi-Tone Cafe – Memphis, TN +
February 18 – Siberia – New Orleans, LA +
February 19 – Firehouse – Birmingham, AL +
February 20 – Mom Says It’s Fine – Atlanta, GA $
February 21 – Deviant Libation – Tampa, FL $
February 22 – Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL $
February 23 – The Ox Store – Gainesville, FL $
February 24 – Drkmatter -Nashville, TN
February 26 – Molotov – Bowling Green, KY

#w/ Deaf Club % w/ Seeyounexttuesday, + w/ Blackwater Sniper, $ w/ The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir

meth. is:
Seb Alvarez – Vocals
Zack Farrar – Guitar
Michael McDonald – Guitar / Vocals
Nathan Spainhower – Bass
Andrew Smith – Drums

Chicago, IL experimentalists meth. have revealed the title of their forthcoming sophomore album today, SHAME, which is set for release on February 2 2024 via Prosthetic Records. meth. will be celebrating the album release with a gallery exhibition and live event at Thalia Hall in Chicago, IL on February 2, with further details on SHAME to be revealed in the coming weeks.

TICKETS TO SHAME (A GALLERY + ALBUM RELEASE EVENT ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

SHAME (a gallery + album release event) will feature exhibitions by .meth’s Seb Alvarez, Chris Fox and Eric Olsen, and performances by .meth, SeeyounextTuesday, Deaf Club and Usurp Synapse.

Speaking on the announcement, Seb comments: “We are so incredibly excited to present our album release event for our new record SHAME. Thalia Hall has always been one of our favorite venues in Chicago and being able to share the stage with bands and artists we all grew up listening to makes the night that much more special to us. It’ll be my first time presenting my physical art in a show setting, along side other artists and friends I have a lot of admiration for. We invite everyone to come celebrate with us on February 2.”

Of SHAME, he continues: “SHAME is a record that’s hard for me to pin point. It took a collective toll on everyone involved. The five years between this record and our last were mentally exhausting. What came out of it though was something we all agree is our strongest work to date and sonically the closest representation of us as a group. Everything is much more dense, self destructive and visceral than anything we’ve put out prior and we cannot wait to get this thing out into the world.”