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We chat to Jozi band Truth & Its Burden about their long-awaited new album


Cape Town – Johannesburg-based hardcore band Truth & Its Burden released their third studio album in July 2017.

With a line-up change, an international record deal and many international and local tours under their belt during the last nine years, the band has released I Labour, a new album which they feel is their finest work to date.

We recently had a chat with the band's vocalist, Ashley de Beer, about their new album, their sound and what they’re up to next.

Check it out here:

You guys recently released your third studio album, I Labour. How did you decide on the title?

Our guitarist Calvin Clayden had the idea to call the album I Labour as a short snippet from a band called Life In Your Way’s one song Worthwhile. The full line would read – "for this I labour, I will labour not in vein". We kind of thought that one line idea resonated with the efforts we put into our band and the writing / recording process of the new album. 

Tell us a bit more about the journey of this album – how long has it been in the making and what inspired the songs on the album?

We’ve struggled as a band over the years, to purely be a band and exist as a musical group. I’m sure many bands out there can relate to how hard it is to strive for something, fall short and somehow try again – repeatedly. We’d done an incredible amount of work on our band over the years and it eventually took its toll on us as a band and as friends.

The new album writing process was really about rebuilding ourselves and our friendships between each other. It also discusses a few personal aspects of life with regards to faith, how we see ourselves and how we got lost along the way. 

What do you want people to take away from this album?

Firstly, we hope folks check it out, but in saying this we hope older fans understand why we stepped back for a while and took our time writing this album. It was a long process riddled with issues along the way, but in the end we released our finest work to date and something we feel is truly significant in the music world. 

Can you describe the album sound in one sentence?

I Labour sounds like your new favourite album, sonically charged and exciting. 

What’s the one thing no one knows about you?

We’re not strange folks with heavily exciting "behind the scenes" lives to be honest, so there’s not much to really share in terms of "saucy" unknowns, haha!

You guys have opened for many international bands, and you’ve toured internationally, what’s been a highlight for you over the years?

I think we had a collective best moment in Czech Republic at Brutal Assault Festival where we were quite literally the softest band of the festival, in a festival that had an incredibly heavy line-up. We happened to have the same time slot as Dimmu Borgir, yet ended out having a packed show, having the audience call for encores show incredible appreciation for our music, making it a really special moment for all of us. 

What’s next for you guys?

We’re currently busy promoting the new album so playing as many shows as possible is basically on the cards. We definitely want to tour Europe again on this album cycle so I guess we will just see how the chips fall.

For more info and the band and where you can catch them next, like their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter and Instagram

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