CD – Jewelcase Hymns From the Hills is meticulously composed. Much like the rest of Poison Run\’s body of work, this LP was self-recorded without the use of professional studio equipment. To meet the greater sonic demands of Hymns From the Hills, however, mastermind Mac Kennedy relocated to a private practice space, retiring from his previous routine of squeezing in tracking sessions around the rare moments that the bands shared practice space happened to be vacant. Having added time to breathe and really get things right felt crucial this time, he remarks. The stress of having to work quickly and at chaotic intervals used to feel productive, in that it instilled a sort of rough, energetic ethos into the recordings, but I began to feel that those working habits were blocking me from pursuing certain ideas that required a more measured, methodical approach. To best serve the records grander ambitions, the band enlisted the mixing prowess of Jonah Falco (Fucked Up, Career Suicide) and the mastering of Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Trapped Under Ice, Cavalera, Integrity), who helped to elevate the records teeming variety of sounds to new heights of self-assured fidelity. Kennedy lent a second hand to the mixing process, splicing in grittier tape recorded segments in order to maintain a certain tonal continuity with the bands previous work, creating a rich structure of unconventional frictions, crystalline flashes of polish ripping through abysses of hissing low end only to shatter against the whipping sting of rusted chains moments later. Lyrically, Hymns From The Hills extends both the cynicism and the defiant bravado of Poison Run\’s established fantasy aesthetics. While the record continues Poison Run\’s tradition of employing medieval-inflected fantasy imagery, Kennedy does not intend for these figures to be read as historically accurate. Im not very interested in conveying the historical facts of medieval culture. If we are to make sense of the present, we need to employ a more mythic mode of language and symbol to reach beyond the spiritual malaise that envelopes us. A mythic truth resonates within any time, but its echos call from outside of time. Medieval and fantasy imagery are simply effective personal starting points for tapping into that mode of communication. With Hymns From The Hills, Poison Run have accomplished a feat of creative labour which few have the courage to entertain, much less the capacity to execute so effectively.Hymns From The Hills ambitiously rewrites the very rules of what punk is capable of achieving, pushing Poison Run\’s sound into expansive new terrains without sacrificing an ounce of the bleak symbolism and uncompromising aggression that first established them as an urgent new voice in the world of extreme music. Tracklist: 1.Intro2.Lily Of The Valley3.Hymn From The Hills4.Eidolon5.Howls From The Citadel6.Pilgrimage7.Guts (Lay Your Self Aside)8.Turn To Dust9.Puzzle Box10.Serpent\’s Curse11.Sleeping Giant (Interlude)12.Crescent Sun13.The Standoff