News
We are happy to premiere ‘Four Walls Fallen,’ a new song by Baton Rouge’s Heavy Mantle. Taking cues from the likes Small Brown Bike, Cursive and even Jawbreaker, the band bangs out a solid mix of punk, hardcore and indie rock that can be as frantic as it is melodic.
The song is taken off of the band’s upcoming album ‘Weights & Measures,’ which will be out Sep 22 via Tor Johnson Records. You can pre-order the album HERE.
Vocalist/guitarist Billy Thompson about the song:
“I grew up on military bases. During the summer we would play war and climb up on old cannons and tanks. It’s weird to grow up like that. Tanks and cannons killed people and there we were using them as playgrounds on these military bases. It wasn’t real for us, we were invincible, but for the people that experienced the horrors of war then and now it’s not a game. Death is real and it doesn’t end for so many people. I read that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that PTSD is experienced by 31 percent of Vietnam veterans, approximately 10 percent of Gulf War veterans and about 11 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan. These scars of war don’t end when they come back home to their families. It affects their personal relationships and careers. Makes me sick to my stomach sometimes thinking about the incongruous view of war from my youth to an adult now. The song has a lot of tension and is jarring and explosive so we tried to make it sound like what it was about.“
Along with Brian Domingue (bass & backups) and Zach Smotherman (drums), Billy wrote a collection of four songs that landed on a demo back in 2015. Three years and about 10,000 miles of road later, they are ready to unleash an LP that sounds equally fresh & original as it does familiar.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
August 12 Baton Rouge, Louisiana @ Burger Mansion w/ Hand Out & Macseal