Calfornia thrash act Take Offense have released a new single and a music video from their upcoming album, T.O.tality. The track is titled “Assassination,” and the album is to release May 10 via MNRK Heavy.
Presave Take Offense here.
Over the past two decades, Take Offense have made themselves known as a staple within SoCal’s hardcore and thrash metal scenes. During the recording of T.O.tality, they’ve mastered their craft and have reached the pinnacle of their crossover style. It’s marked with a sense of modernity that incorporates the hard-driving ethos of thrash, the finesse of speed metal, and the sneering tenacity of hardcore.
Frontman, Anthony Herrera on “Assassination”:
““Assassination” embodies our mission to be truthful and give everything that you have. It’s accompanying video, directed by Nicholas Hipa is a metaphor. The assassin in the video represents anyone and anything trying to stop us….It ain’t happening.”
T.O.tality is a massive step forward for Take Offense via the attention given with respect ot the lyrics and story-telling provided by frontman, Anthony Herrera. The familiar lyrical themes from their previous releases continue to ring true, all whilst Anthony called upon his own upbringing to cultivate new themes surrounding existentialism, politics, soldiering forward and leaving regret behind.
They have also started to look towards the tone and attitude of their Californian counterparts such as EXCEL and Suicidal Tendencies, who have leaned heavily into skate aesthetics, yet also worshipped Sunset Strip-and-adjacent dieties like Warren Di Martini and Eddie Van Halen. T.O.tality was designed to be a love letter to that scene and those times, delivered in the format of an armada with 14 nitro-equipped tracks.
Similar to previous records, the track style features Nick Jett along with the band serving as producers. The conflicting schedules between members caused the recording be that much more anticipated. It started back in the summer of 2021, and the tracking wrapped up in June of 2023. Matt Hyde handled the mixing, and Nick Townsend covered the mastering. There were scheduling issues and complications around the pandemic, and on top of that, Greg played in the live lineup of Turstile for a while, so that added another layer. Regardless of all that, T.O.tality is here, and a big step forward.
Guitarist Greg Cerwonka on T.O.tality:
“We’re incredibly proud of the record and feel like it really represents who we are and where we’re from. But it was a really strenuous one to make and at points it felt like we might not get it done.”
Anthony Herrera on T.O.tality:
“I feel like I didn’t hold back on things I wanted to say. It’s even in the title of the record: totality. Certain tracks on the record have references to Mexica, which are beliefs that go back to early Mexico, something that I grew up with.When I was younger, I don’t think it was as easy for me to express certain things into words. I think things come easier now, and I feel like I put it all out there. So I’m very proud to be at this point. I feel like we are stronger than ever, and with the new record, we are the best version of who we are. ”
