Halo Castration Institute is Intercourse's ninth release in less than a decade. The album
was recorded at Dead Man’s Blade studio in New Britain, CT by Ryan Pelegano, and was
mastered by Mike Moschetto.
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In a nod to the iconic line from the film Stand By Me, the album's opening track and
first single, "Where Losers Go to Die," kicks off with frontman Tarek Ahmed
bellowing: "Hey man, want to see a dead body?" What follows is an eerie The Jesus
Lizard-esque dirge that slips into a Neanderthal breakdown, serving as a perfect
introduction to Intercourse's world. Choosing brutish simplicity as their weapon of
choice, the band prowls the shadowy fringes of noise rock and hardcore, a zone also
occupied by the likes of Chat Pile and Couch Slut. "We’re too weird for a lot of the
hardcore scene and too aggro for the weird scene," states Ahmed.
The band's sole founding member, Ahmed wields a singular vocal style that smashes the
line between the sublime and the ridiculous. With a strangulated roar, almost
cartoonish in its unhinged glory, Ahmed spouts painfully direct, often poetic, lyrics
about the pain of existence. His songs reference a litany of characters from his own past,
growing up in the backwoods of Connecticut as an Egyptian kid in the post-9/11 years,
and from the annals of true crime – hitman Richard "The Iceman" Kulkinski, bulldozer
enthusiast Marvin Heemeyer, and Bjork stalker Ricardo Lopez, to name a few. A 2021
write-up from No Echo hailed Ahmed as "a brilliant wordsmith I aspire to someday
match in skill."
Of the album's first single, "Where Losers Go to Die," Ahmed states: “The song is about
trying to fight your own existential dread and realizing how futile it is. Life sucks, it only
gets worse, and all anyone will offer you is clichéd advice."
The song's official music video is a lo-fi slice of unease that matches the song's anxiety to
a tee. "I directed the video and our guitarist Sean edited it," says Ahmed. "We were
going for a 'Blair Witch' vibe and I love how the vibe matches the album art."
Halo Castration Institute is Intercourse's ninth release in less than a decade. The album
was recorded at Dead Man’s Blade studio in New Britain, CT by Ryan Pelegano, and was
mastered by Mike Moschetto.
credits
released May 5, 2023
Lineup:
Tarek Ahmed - vocals
Sean Prior - guitar
Pete Stroczkowski - bass
Caleb Porter - drums
Guests:
Peter Kovalsky (Remembering Never, Ether Coven) - vocals
Tyler Trelease (Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean) - vocals
Paul DeGrandpre (Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean) - vocals
The cover art was created by Madds Ellis, in-house illustrator for Last Podcast on
the Left.
supported by 12 fans who also own “Intercourse "Halo Castration Institute" LP”
It's a lot like Botch, but grimmer and heavier, less whimsical - all of which is fine with me. Usually I'm not a fan of "sounds like" deals, but (a) this is very, very well done, and (b) I have sorely been missing the punishing angular mathcore that set the turn of the millennium alight. The production here is fantastic, with modern power, but not so compressed that it sands off the oh-so-vital edges. fyeahmetal
Coordinated Suicides make noise rock that melds burly, roiling dirges with the harsh and haunting textures of shoegaze and black metal. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 27, 2022
supported by 11 fans who also own “Intercourse "Halo Castration Institute" LP”
this is demented and fucked up. almost psychotic. I should've gotten the vinyl when I had the chance. I recommend getting baked before listening to it in full. USER56336316589679