(EDITOR’S NOTE — Today marks the release of the new album, Ad Nauseam, by Buffalo hardcore band World on Fire. Besides the LP’s digital release on streaming platforms, vinyl-preorders are also available HERE. The band recorded the album with Nick Borgosz at Sound Authentic studio. WOF will be hosting an album release show Sat. June 22 at Area 54 with Pure Heel, Old Ghosts, Hard to Know and Seconds Left. Formed in 2019, the band is comprised of Jon Morgan – guitar, Matt Kusmierz – guitar, Tim Fletcher – bass, Christian Newman – drums, and Dan Cross-Viola – vocals. — Black and white photo provided by band. Color photo by Sarah Bruno/1120 Press.)
There is some music to which you simply listen, and then there is some music that compels you to listen. ‘Ad Nauseam,’ the new album released today by the socially conscience Buffalo hardcore band World on Fire, compels you — not just to listen, but to get up off your ass and get involved.
There is not a single hit of passivity on this record. The album, in fact, is a blistering call to action.
Stark and, at times, sobering in its examination of the brutality that surrounds us in society, the urgency conveyed by the band is unrelenting, from the very first note of this album straight through to its end.
Playing ball, cracking jokes
Made me smile every time we spoke
Handed a shitty hand
Came to age in this barren land
20 years to find your way
39 minutes took it all away
—Rooted (from ‘Ad Nauseam’)
‘Ad Nauseam’ is a mirror held up to our world, and the reflection — at which World on
Fire demands you take a good long look — isn’t pretty. But while despair is evident, front and center too is a commitment to stand up and fight.
The songs on ‘Ad Nauseam’ explore and examine a wide-range of issues, from the Tops Massacre in Buffalo — of which this past week marked the second somber anniversary — to addiction, hate, poverty, the environment, and fatherhood
I can only hope
To better equip you
For the shit this world
Is going to put you through
My sacred duty
My sacred role
—Sacred (from ‘Ad Nauseam’)
“I've worked with young people in youth programs in Buffalo and Chicago for the better part of 20 years, and I also have children of my own (7 and 6 years old),” said Dan Cross-Viola, WOF’s vocalist.
“This has made me pretty focused on the next generations, thinking about the fertile soil they deserve to come up in, and being disgusted at the shitty circumstances our society forces on them. This disgust served as inspiration for many of the songs on this album. A few specific themes include white racist terror, the many ways we're failing young people, the trepidation I feel raising children in this hate-filled world, and the damage addiction does to the ones we love most.”
Noticeable throughout ‘Ad Nauseam’ is that Borgosz never allows the album’s intensity to wane, keeping the band’s foot planted firmly on the pedal. Also standing out is WOF’s excellent use of rallying backing vocals, which anthemically serve to drive the band’s message.
Days turn to weeks
You battle through, born anew
But the specter remains
All I can do is love you
As much as I can
All I can do is hold you tight
As long as I can
—To Your Knees (from ‘Ad Nauseam’)
One of our favorite moments on this album is the bridge in the song ‘Death Throes,’ which brings the entire LP to crescendo. In fact, ever since the band released the song months ago as a promo, we’ve been eager to hear more.
With today’s release of ‘Ad Nauseam,’ we thankfully get that chance.
“We're really excited to put this out into the world,” Cross-Viola said. “The lineup for the band shuffled around a bit in the beginning. It wasn't until we recorded the demo that the lineup stabilized. Since then, we've gotten to know each other as musicians better and have come to recognize the unique strengths we all bring to the table. For this album, we wanted to leverage those strengths to take the songwriting to the next level.”
Death throes
Not violent
Not a cathartic crescendo
Just a candle slowly burning out
Flickering before it winks out
But death throes nonetheless
This truly is the end…
Or my last chance
To save myself
—Death Throes (from ‘Ad Nauseam’)
“Our process has become incredibly collaborative and that shines through in more complex song structures,” Cross-Viola added. “The style is a pretty unique amalgamation of different hardcore/punk/d-beat influences that is reflective of the band's collective tastes. It's been really cool to have each of us have a hand in creating music we'd like to listen to.”
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