Armitage cut through the sound with “Victory or Defeat,” a visceral new track from four passionate musicians’ hearts and home studio. This is the aural equivalent of a kaiju attacking from the bottom of the Pacific and tearing apart the boring with metalcore teeth.
Borne out of spontaneous jam collaborations between drummer Jason Walker and guitarist Dan Turnquist, Armitage grew from shared lunches, memories of youth, and plain old musical chemistry. With bassist Mark Holderfield and old friend Jesse Condra providing vocals, the group has woven something raw and soothingly earnest together.
Heavily indebted to 2000s metalcore titans such as Killswitch Engage, Atreyu, and Parkway Drive, “Victory or Defeat” dives in headfirst, double bass. The track rocks with furious, riff-driven energy before transitioning seamlessly into huge melodic choruses, a nod to the artist’s key influences from the bands that soundtracked his youth. Still, the familiarity of form notwithstanding, there’s something unquestionably intimate about this.
This song is from “Robusta,” a concept EP that tells the story of a massive kaiju coming out of the water to lay waste to the mainland. The metaphor is hardly subtle. This is music about internal struggles, existential ruin, and the brutal beauty of starting from scratch. The tension is palpable in every pummeling breakdown or icy scream that tears at the air like static.
What further elevates this release is its DIY ethos. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jason at his home on budget equipment, “Victory or Defeat” is far from amateurish-sounding. The at-home process gave the band room to play around with it, and each riff, beat, and lyric underwent group deliberation, and the final product sounded collaborative and considered. An homage to the bands that begat their love of music, Armitage’s debut could also serve as a testament to the joy of making something real with some friends. There’s passion, sweat, and a dose of metalcore mad energy.
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