KEN mode have announced their seventh full-length album “Loved” which will be released via Season Of Mist/New Damage Records on August 31st. As an early indication of the album, the band have shared the video for the opening track “Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should”.
The album represents yet another pivot point in the group’s sound, a departure from the indie/noise punk focused songs on their previous album, Success. Drawing from the noise and industrial sonics of the 80’s and 90’s, KEN mode has mixed in the decidedly more extreme tone and presence of death and black metal to their sound.
ABOUT THE BAND
Kill Everyone Now mode. KEN mode: an ethos legendary Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins would use to describe the band’s state of mind while taking the stage for the endless touring cycle of their genre-defying classic album ‘My War’. This proved to be the psychological foundation/attitude for the project brothers Jesse and Shane Matthewson would form in 1999 in their home of Winnipeg, MB, Canada that would see them produce a manic form of metal and hardcore infused with noise rock.
Cutting their teeth in the early 2000s with a pair of records – 2003’s Mongrel and 2006’s Reprisal – on Philadelphia’s Escape Artist Records, the group would find breakout underground notoriety with their JUNO award-winning album, 2011’s Kurt Ballou produced Venerable. This marked a decided shift for the band, embarking on an unrelenting touring schedule for the following 5 years. This included releasing two additional full-lengths 2013’s Matt Bayles produced Entrench and 2015’s Steve Albini produced Success (both JUNO nominated and highly critically acclaimed) and seeing them hit a multitude of major festivals and doing live sessions for institutions such as BBC Radio and Daytrotter.
With such a heavy schedule burnout was inevitable, and in 2016 the band took a step back to regroup: core members, Shane and Jesse, formed their own music business management services company, MKM Management Services – who now maintains a who’s who of Canadian metal, punk, and hardcore bands as its clientele; Jesse went to Thailand to study Muay Thai full time; while bassist Scott Hamilton released records with his other bands Adolyne and Greylight District and managed film programming at the Broadway Theatre at his home in Saskatoon. In 2017 the band began writing with a newfound focus and desire, in the most collaborative effort they have ever put together.
Different Noises For Your Ears 