Metallic hardcore act Direct Measure are sharing their new track “Testing Our Bonds” from their upcoming LP Might and Might Alone. The album will be released through War Records.
Listen to the track here:
Direct Measure were formed in 2018. The band have released three EPs so far, among them Road to Nowhere (2018) and The Worst of Us (2019) received widespread acclaim. The band have made significant contributions to the St. Louis hardcore scene along with Time and Pressure, and Squint.
Guitarist Jake Meyer has also answered a few questions regarding the new song, new album, and upcoming activities of the band. The conversation is as follows:
We are premiering the track Testing Our Bonds” today; can you talk about what inspired the song, both lyrically and sonically?
So, we started writing alot of these songs several years ago with a certain premise in mind. Mainly we wanted to write about the struggles of class warfare in the country and the world, and specifically with this song, it shines more of a light on your individual relationships and bonds with your peers who might have opposing views on many of the apparent and obvious atrocities that are happening every single day, and I would say that it even is more relevant now than a few years prior.
As far as sonically, Soots (guitar) and I (Jake) write from a few different places of inspiration, and for this, we were really listening to a lot of One Step Closer, Have Heart, and me specifically the band Bind, so I think it kind of stands out a little more than our other songs, which tend to be a little more riff- and thrash-influenced pieces. I also think it’s interesting to note that this is one of our only songs that has a “reprise,” meaning we come back to the original riff at the end of the song, tying it all together.
What can you tell us about your new LP, Might and Might Alone, and how does this record reflect where Direct Measure are at right now, both creatively and personally?
This record is a lot more fleshed out; it’s very inspired by a lot of personal things we can all relate to as a band, and also it’s very intentional with the writing. It feels like a milestone for us. I don’t think any of us have ever put out a full length record before, so it feels like a mountain that we’ve been climbing for sometime, and we’re finally at the peak of it. It took us about three years to write, and a lot of things, good and bad, can happen to a person in three years, so it really feels like a testament to overcoming a lot of those trials, so I think we’re all incredibly happy to see it through.
Might and Might Alone releases at the end of the month; what’s next for Direct Measure once the album is released?
We’re gonna tour as much as we possibly can, keep putting out cool merch; we have a crazy record release show in the works for July. And as of now, I think we’re gonna keep writing more music for the next release. When we started writing this record, we kind of set it up as possibly being the last thing we would do as a band. However, for me, hardcore has always been a tool that I’ve had for building my relationships, community, and overcoming all my trials and tribulations, so I’m excited at the idea of writing for another release with this band, and reaching the peak of the next mountain.
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Photo courtesy of Kevin O Bryant
