Survival is an album of dark and meditative heavy rock. Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Greg Smith, and Jeff Bobula have been playing together for over a decade and recorded this album as Survival with Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia) at The Thousand Caves. Syncopated riffs, intricate rhythms and atypical time signatures create dramatic and complex melodic lines that provide a bed for chant-like lyrics. The group opperates as a collective, writing lyrics, riffs and singing with one voice. The album is a unique document that harkens back to post-hardcore, Black Sabbath, Magma, Aphrodite’s Child, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aaron Copeland, The Smashing Pumpkins, and the first wave of math rock. The galloping “Tragedy of the Mind” opens the album, triumphantly proclaiming, “Ending begins.” On “Since Sun” and “Tragedy (Reprise)” the group also employs acoustic guitars to create a hushed atmosphere of contemplation and reflection. The final song, “Triumph of the Good,” provides Survival’s most cathartic moment, as the distorted, almost baroque guitars slowly ascend and get louder the group collectively sings “Forgive us” before all of the instruments line up to create a massive rhythmic assault. Survival was born out of the ashes of the band Birthday Boyz, whose 2007 tour of China was documented by Vice TV for an installment of the Music World show called “Rock Under the Red Flag.”. The songs on Survival emerged after years of retooling and rearranging, with the riffs, melodies, and song structures evolving gradually over time. The band will be touring the US this summer for the first time to celebrate the release of the album. Liturgy is also in the process of recording material to be released this fall.