Employed to Serve are one of those bands whose name doesn’t quite make sense to me. Is anyone ever employed not to serve? As an employee, are you not, in a sense, a servant of your employer, regardless of your actual job? I don’t get it!
Something I most certainly do get, though, is the British quintet’s new single, “Mark of the Grave.” This. Song. BOPS. The galloping riff! The corrosive vocals!! The razor-sharp hook!!! The shreddy solo!!!! And that post-solo breakdown!!!!! It’s a very satisfying hybrid of Panteric groove, Machine Head-ian deathrash, and Arch Enemy-esque melodeath. I like it so much I’m writing it a letter of recommendation for early admission to Oxford.
Says frontwoman Justine Jones of the song:
“This song is about people who’d rather put other people down, instead of getting on with their own lives. When writing this song we wanted to try our hand at writing a positive metal anthem for people to blast when they’re having a shitty day. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we had fun recording and writing it! Stay kind m/ ”
Check out “Mark of the Grave” below.
The song will appear on Employed to Serve’s new album, Conquering. That comes out September 17 via Spinefarm. Listen to the previous single, “Exist,” here, and pre-order the album here.