Brighton noisemongers Jonestown are premiering their debut album exclusively with Metal Hammer and it is an absolute BEAST of a record.
Taking sermons from the altar of Behemoth and a few choice notes from the murky worlds of hardcore and death metal, Aokigahara is a monstrous slab of undiluted savagery.
Jonestown guitarist Craig Radford and vocalist Harley Anderson gives Hammer the lowdown on what each track means and where it came from…
Deliverance
Craig: A metaphorical patricide, in the words of Chuck Palahniuk; “The greatest revenge is to live a good fucking life”, this song is about overcoming adversity and abuse.
Cenodoxus
Craig: The name taken from a German 17th century miracle play (plays focusing on divine intervention). The song is about social networking avatars and their narcissistic online self expressions, where they take an external legitimate tragedy and use it to fuel their need for attention.
Borderline
Harley: Borderline is about my personal experience of Borderline Personality Disorder, the continuing everyday war with myself.
Mass Extinction 6
Craig: This song focuses on the media and public response to the unfortunate death of Alan Kurdi. This song is about our species’ uncertain future and our redemptive need to transcend ideas of nationality, faith, culture and recognise ourselves as one single expression of humanity without mental or national borders.
Aokigahara
Craig: Aokigahara is about the indomitable will, facing your fears and either championing them or submitting to them. This song is a shadow casting itself over the romantic view of suicide.
Aprés Moi
Craig: Aprés Moi was inspired by prolific murderer Andrew Cunanan and his senior year book entry “Aprés Moi, Les Deluge” meaning After Me, The Storm. The song is a trip into the mind of a misanthropic psychopath with wet dreams of Godhood.
The 33rd Parallel
Craig: The 33rd Parallel is thought to be a Masonic law on the will to power named after the Phoenician civilisation which was based around the 33rd parallel (33 degrees north of the Earth’s equatorial plane). The song is about distractions and divisions created by the media, which serve to do nothing but make us ignorant to our shared humanity.
Deadweight
Craig: This song is about debt culture and structural violence. Inspired by Chuck Palahniuk’s book Fight Club and our shared social responsibility to each other.
