Ready The Prince - 'Regicide'
With their new single Regicide, Canadian group Ready The Prince can finally kill the kings of rock and ascend to the throne they so rightfully deserve.
This has been a long time coming. On one side is the new rock mafia, here captained by Ready The Prince. A legion of bands championed by one simple message — screw what you think of as rock music. Screw the same old recycled songs. This is new, and this is heart palpitatingly powerful. On the other, the mainstays — the rock bands, the rock music that’s been around for decades. And bridging the gap comes Regicide, reflecting RTP’s rightful ascension straight to the top.
Regicide is brutal. From those first few seconds, drawn out guitar providing just another discordant tension to make you uncomfortable, it’s a stand out song in the Ontario-based band’s catalogue. As the drums kick in, alongside an almost bouncing bass line, the vocals of Steve DeCiantis emerge, bruised and bloody. They are consistently unique, constantly building on top of the music rather than simply being part of it. And here, from the outset, they’re immensely powerful. The instrumentals become almost muted in their presence as his unadulterated fury emerges unscathed. The transition from verse to chorus adds another layer of complexity as the vocals begin to break and distort; yet it’s during the fractured screams of ‘I’m Not Scared’ in the chorus that the song reaches a fever pitch. They reflect a liberating catharsis, a fervent desire for liberation; it creates an almost involuntary feeling of discomfort, deeply visceral angst, which leaves you unconsciously disturbed and yet weirdly addicted. “I’m fighting with my teeth, and bones, and heart of stone”, Steve cries, quite literally giving the song everything as the band claws it’s way into your head and puts up its tent. Or, rather, its throne room — complete with moat!
At times the track is almost discordant, an immensely fascinating symbol of the abject; while at others it embodies what it is to be alive in 2020, full of pain and rage and chaos. It’s beautiful in its violent complexity, and it’s a tremendous song. If this is what rock music, count me in!
New rock mafia is a collective and an idea, founded by Canadian bands and close friends cleopatrick, Ready The Prince and Zig Mentality, (formerly Dubé). The trinity are revolutionising the idea of rock music, a scene of doing shows with rock music, full of energy, and the ‘vibe of almost a Hip Hop show.’ It’s something to believe in and to strive for; something to rally behind. Something to set their music apart from any form of dilution in either their sound or their energy. And it’s brilliant.
If you like this, check out the recent releases of Best Direction by Zig Mentality and GOOD GRIEF by cleopatrick for more NRM goodness!
Words by James O’Sullivan