Having spent their teenage years in the early ‘90s immersed in the hard thrashing sounds of Tourniquet, Believer, Sacrament, Mortification and many more, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Roebuck and vocalist Courtney Simmons were inspired to follow in the footsteps of the bands that had given them so much support and encouragement through their music – and from that dream, that aspiration, Motivik would be born. In 2020 the duo from Atlanta, Georgia unleashed their first album, Death Of The Gunman, establishing their own blend of powerful thrash and melodic heavy metal. Motivik were finally standing alongside their erstwhile heroes, creating music to support others in their journey through life. Now in 2024 they are ready to take the next step forward with their incredible second album, the breathtaking explosion of precision, adrenaline-infused riffing, adventurous song writing, technically dextrous playing, stunning melodies and huge choruses that is Renouncement!
From the dramatic, uplifting instrumental opening of ‘Palace Of Ashes’, that heralds the beginning of Renouncement’s incredible, emotional ride, to the final heart-wrenching words of the epic ‘Once Again’ that conclude it, Motivik’s latest release is a staggering summation of everything that is great about metal music. It’s redundant to talk about album highlights, because Renouncement consists of nothing but highlights. Motivik take the essence of classic thrash metal and mould it into fresh, exciting forms with their progressive, imaginative approach. ‘Dethroned’ takes jagged, angular riffing and fuses it with great hooks and the sort of fantastic, melodic chorus that emblazons itself across your memory with one listen. ‘Break The Walls’ lands blow after blow of aggressive thrash power before exploding into a searing solo and uplifting chorus. ‘This Man I Am’ is the distillation of absolute headbanging metal magnificence, while ‘Septicemia’ features some truly beautiful guitar work, some genre-defining thrash riffing and utterly uncompromising lyrics…and the list just goes on. The individual performances from all involved are of the highest magnitude; Courtney Simmons’ vocals are some of the most powerful and emotive you’ll hear anywhere in metal today, displaying fantastic range and masterful delivery, while Ryan Roebuck fires out riff after killer riff with flawless, machinegun firepower and scatters solos and melodies like gold dust over every track. Session drummer Alex Emidio is pure thunder behind the kit and a range of guest appearances all add their own touch of magic to this remarkable album – look out for contributions from vocalists Jason Weaver, Chris Ackerman (Betrayal), Jason Wisdom (Becoming The Archetype) and Andre Chiang (Shamash) along with sparkling guitar leads from Greg Minier (Applehead, The Crucified) and Derek Corzine (Burial Extraction, Crowned In Sorrow etc). Derek Corzine also mixed Renouncement, applying the skills that have brought such fine results to recent albums by Shamash and Symphony Of Heaven, while the final touch of sheer quality was applied by the mastering of Rob Colwell, who has previously worked with thrash legends like Coroner, Accuser and Flotsam And Jetsam.
Renouncement will be released through Roxx Records on July 1st, adorned in the powerful and evocative artwork of Seth Metoyer (Mangled Carpenter) and all fans of the very finest in melodic thrash and heavy metal should be waiting to embrace this sonic offering. With Renouncement, Motivik have really shown the metal world just what anthemic, affecting, outstanding music they are capable of creating. And Ryan Roebuck and Courtney Simmons can stand proudly alongside all those bands that once helped them to dream.
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