Blackened hardcore outfit Joy made their reputation by playing ripping, caustic music. Their last release, an EP called Of Nothing, was dripping in anger that exploded in a cathartic, noisy collection of five songs that hammered you for just under ten minutes. Because of the length, the songs were lean and left little room to deviate from that formula. That changes today, with Joy’s new video for “Moon and Sky.”
“Moon and Sky,” the first single for Joy’s upcoming album No Light Below, which is looking at a late 2018 release on Blood & Ink, though no date has been confirmed. What we can tell you is that stylistically, this is unlike previous Joy releases. The song features only an acoustic guitar and clean vocals, trading corrosive hardcore for eerie mood music.
In the video, a figure in a black robe and black plague-style mask uses a rope to lead a fearful man into a house where… well, watch the video yourself and find out what happens in the house. “Moon and Sky” is playing below.
Keep reading for a chat with guitarist Allen Tucker to learn a bit more about No Light Below and follow Joy on Facebook to stay in the know about a release date, pre-orders and more songs. They also have merch here.
It’s definitely a change of pace. From the start of the writing process, we knew we wanted to have a track that was completely out of left field and unexpected, and go ahead and release that first. Its the only song of its nature on the album and the final track. We felt it would feel out of place any where else in the track listing. We wanted make sure that overall, we had more than one dimension with this album.
What’s been up in the Joy camp since you released Of Nothing?
All of us have been through a lot of personal changes in our lives, some good, some more difficult to deal with. We took way longer than we wanted with this release, but we believe the time was not wasted. We went back to the drawing board with the songs, the artwork, the timeline, etc. numerous times. We made sure it is something to remember. We can’t wait to present everything we have been working on.
What are some of the themes you approached musically and lyrically for this new album?
I’d say lyrically I tried to focus on writing about things I can relate to personally, and I just kind of hoped other people could relate in some way. I wrote them for myself in a sense, as a way to process what was going on in my head. An outlet for my thoughts essentially. If someone else can relate, awesome. If not, at least they can get an idea of what other people wrestle with in their heads.
The past few months have been shitty, so a lot of the songs are about a general disdain for mankind, human nature or just myself as an individual. Definitely a big part of the writing was me trying to come to some sort of understanding of the destructive and cruel tendencies mankind exhibits by default. Also in a way, it has a lot to do with losing your faith in humanity and moving away from the organized religious beliefs you grew up with. Just trying to figure out what I believe now in this moment of my life.
Music wise, I’d say we tried to piece together all the styles we like into one cohesive piece. Drawing influence from hardcore, thrash, black metal, to the big riffs of old-school metal and rock.
We shot this ourselves, so we just tried to take it as far as we could with the lowest budget possible. Honestly, we just wanted to keep it weird and hopefully make someone uncomfortable.
