We’re glad to announce that Virgina, United States-based instrumental duo Hailing Ishimura will be releasing a new single, entitled “We Did It To Survive,” next Tuesday (August 2nd, 2022). You can pre-save the track here.
Hailing Ishimura are Dom Hopson (guitar, bass, synthesizer) and Chris True (guitar, bass). Inspired by bands such as Brand New, The Beatles, Coheed & Cambria, Lamb of God, If These Trees Could Talk, The Early November, and Thursday, Hailing Ishimura was formed in an old Pepsi Bottling Warehouse in December of 2021. They came together to tell a space adventure through instrumentals, and have been featured on Scrambled Rambles Podcast. Dom and Chris initially met through their wives, who met in Middle School; so before they were a band, they were a family.
“We Did It To Survive” is Hailing Ishimura’s newest single, and is one of their heavier tracks, mixing metal, post-rock, synthwave, and prog rock. To help convey part of the story that the band tells on their forthcoming album, the track is necessarily dark-sounding. Leaning into heavier tones, “We Did It To Survive” represents the adventurers in the story at their most desperate—they are dead in the water and have to make hard decisions. The vibe of the track embodies this atmosphere quite well: it’s dark and brooding, yet balanced with lighter moments.
“Hailing Ishimura exists to tell a story. The part of the story that ‘We Did It To Survive’ exists in finds our adventurers at their lowest point. The music very much informs that with the dark tones and heavy riffs,” the duo say about the single.
“‘We Did It To Survive’ was Hailing Ishimura stretching their legs and trying something new. It’s heavier than anything we have done to date and it was an absolute joy to compose as well as perform,” the duo add.
“We Did It To Survive” was recorded in West Point, Va. by Domenic Hopson/Christopher True, and will be released on Use Your Armor Records.
For listeners unacquainted with Hailing Ishimura’s music, the band tells us, “For first time listeners, the hope is they get an experience. What we have planned is very ambitious and involves a story that goes along with the music. We aren’t just a rock band. We take the listener on an adventure in the hopes that they come back for more.”
“We Did It To Survive” begins with low, metallic bass-synth notes that fade into the track, creating a sound that from its outset reminds me of fellow synth-led instrumental duo Zombi. The song’s powerfully retro-sounding drums and deep, introspective electric guitar melodies soon join in, followed by airy synth leads that add quite well to the complex melodic structure, while at the same time conveying a sense of lightness that nicely contrasts with the guitars and bass-synths.
A downtuned electric guitar chord progression then emerges, bringing heavy and dynamic rock/metal riffs that simultaneously ground the listener in distortion while perfectly advancing the song’s progressive melodies. Then, emerging from the final distorted chord of this heavier section of the track is a new theme—one that conjures a feeling of determinedness in spite of adversity, highlighted by chugging guitar chords, ethereal synth leads, and epic percussion. This section ultimately brings the listener full-circle, leading back into the song’s introductory theme to conclude the track.
“We Did It To Survive” is quite an enjoyable listen throughout, highlighting Hailing Ishimura’s brilliant songwriting and superb musicianship; I would highly recommend this track to fans of progressive rock and post-metal alike.
Don’t forget to support this project and to follow on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Spotify. You can also check out their official website.
You can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Alterindie State Of Mind, Sickest & Dopest, Unknown but Essentials!, and Hot Stuff Metal.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!!!
This coverage was created via MusoSoup #Sustainablecurator
Leave a Reply