Year of the Knife have had a year of wild highs and extreme lows. After dropping an EP back in February that marked their first set of music with bassist-turned-vocalist Madi Watkins on the mic, Year of the Knife suffered a devastating van crash in late June that left all four members with serious injuries.
Madi got it the worst, breaking "almost everything" and suffering a traumatic brain injury, according to her husband, bassist Brendan Watkins.
While she's still on the road to recovery, Year of the Knife have decided to go ahead and announce their new album, No Love Lost, which was recorded back in December 2022 with master boardsmith Kurt Ballou.
The 20-minute, nine-song record is due out October 27th, and today (September 26th) the band are previewing it with two devastating songs.
"Wish" is a minute-and-a-half burner featuring vocals by Sanguisugabogg frontman Devin Swank, and "Last Laugh" clocks in at just 47 seconds, and boasts a savage guest spot from Full of Hell's Dylan Walker.
Listen to the tracks above and below via YouTube.
"This record represents so many things for us," Brendan said in a press release. "It's Madi's big debut, her second set of recordings and first ever LP singing for YOTK. In my opinion she crushes.
"It was super hard to come to the decision to release the record while she's still recovering. The record was originally supposed to start rolling out in July but with everything that happened we thought it best to wait. Now that Madi's more aware of what's going on I think she'll be really excited.
"Our influences are all over the place for this record. This was the second time each of us wrote music for the record — like [our 2023 EP] Dust to Dust where we each wrote a song, we all contributed. Madi even wrote a breakdown. It was an awesome experience learning how we each express ourselves musically. This is what I've got."
No Love Lost is out October 27th via Pure Noise, and all the sales will be going directly to the band members' medical funds. Pre-orders are available here.
