‘Dark Side Of The Brain’ is a 9 track album from Wollongong’s punk/hardcore band UNDER THE INFLUENCE (UTI). It’s a follow up album to ‘Exchange My Brain,’ which was released in April 2019. ‘Dark Side Of The Brain’ is jam packed with chaotic guitar riffs, mind blowing drum fills and beefy bass lines. It’s a heavy, fast, hard-hitting ball of mayhem.
Lyrically, the album hits hard on subjects such as overcoming personal struggles, addiction, narcissistic influences, toxicity, racism, and losing loved ones in a world gone mad. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that will leave you thinking about the state of the world, the people around you and your own personal growth.
‘Dark Side Of The Brain’ is out now via Riot Records on all digital platforms. UNDER THE INFLUENCE (UTI) have released several singles in the lead up to the album. This includes Cobra Spit, Crows, Gone and Moon Flavoured Magnets which gave fans and new discoverers an insight into currently one of the best punk/hardcore bands on the Australian scene.
Listen/Buy ‘Dark Side of the Brain’ HERE
ALBUM TRACK BY TRACK
* Cobra Spit
Have you felt someone’s narcissistic venom seep through your skin and into your brain, corrupting your thoughts to the point of nearly sending you insane? Hopefully not. Well, this is a song about the manipulation of one’s better judgement by the narcissistic input of others around you. Don’t let their venom inside. Be yourself, trust yourself, know your worth.
* Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido was inspired by a surf trip our guitarist took to Mexico a few years back, where he was threatened by locals to leave Puerto Escondido. This song screams for equality and unity between different countries and cultures alike. We are all connected and need to work together. We’re all humans and the earth is our home. Shared with the animal kingdom, plants and fungi, which we need to protect, respect and share. If we can somehow find a way to work together there may still be hope for future generations.
* Watching You Bleed
This song is about different roads in life, sometimes you’re going uphill, sometimes downhill. A cycle of learning from your mistakes and bettering yourself at every obstacle. No one’s situation is the same, and in a world full of judgmental eyes it’s best to block it all out and focus on your own path to personal growth.
* Retaliate
Have you ever found yourself in a hole so deep and dark it’s hard to even imagine the light? Then as the rain stops and the sun slowly rises you start to bloom, sprouting out of the dirt back into reality. You evolve by cutting off the weight that was dragging you down. When surrounded by negativity it’s contagious. You need to turn the page and start a new story, walk in a different direction to do what’s right.
* Body Parts Blurb
Body parts scatter the road is real-life psychosis in a song. It’s dark, it’s diverse, it’s crazy and it’s real… or was it really a dream? Whilst living a life built on lies, deception and stress, you find yourself slowly falling and dealing with psychotic episodes and hallucinations of your own demise. Which include witnessing your own body parts scattered across the road. It’s a fiery cauldron of mental confusion.
* Moon Flavoured Magnets
Welcome to Kin’s brain. It’s infused with mushrooms, madness and wisdom but we’ll let you decide. This is a mystical magical poem I wrote to mother nature. Touching on human greed, space, time, pollution and disrespect. Sadly, most humans are on a self-driven vendetta. Without a care for what really matters or anything that’s connected to the natural world. The only hope I see for mankind is to reconnect to the moon and oceanic currents by the only way I know, magic of course. That’s what this song is about…. magic.
* Crows
This song lets out our frustrations towards all the fake people in this world. The ones that lie and talk shit whilst pushing their jaded negative views onto others. It’s about the people that will tell you they can fly when they can barely crawl. This song has them fall apart stitch by stitch, line by line and it’s only a matter of time before their facade crashes down around them. The mask falls off and the crows dive in to rip the eyeballs from their skulls.
* Better In The Long Run
We live in a crooked world driven by money and greed. Everyone is racing each other to keep up, whilst trying to meet unrealistic social and financial status. Everyone wants to win in a capitalist world. But sometimes the way to winning is actually losing. People become toxic and will lie to get what they want, and money equals power in these sad times. I can only hope for change and that things get better in the long run.
* Gone
When you lose someone close to you it’s not easy. Mental health is so important. Self-medication through alcohol and drugs can lead you down a slippery slope of mental and physical decay, maybe until it’s too late? This track is about mental health issues, substance abuse and the death of friends and loved ones. Please take care of yourself, and look out for those around you. This song is dedicated to the life of Pete Cartwright. Rest in peace Pete.
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With thanks to Golden Robot Records + Riot Records