Angel Du$t frontman Justice Tripp once called Negative Approach’s “Dead Stop” a “perfect rock song.” “It’s really about energy,” he said at the time. “I’m constantly learning new ways to convey that, you know?”
On their fifth studio album, COLD 2 THE TOUCH, Angel Du$t warp that energy to their will, pushing their audacious hardcore into unexpected corners. Born out of the same Baltimore scene as Turnstile, Tripp came up as the vocalist in Trapped Under Ice, with Brendan Yates behind the drum kit. AD spawned in 2013, initially with Turnstile’s Daniel Fang and Pat McCrory as members. Since, Tripp has been the only mainstay in the lineup — now fleshed out by guitarists Steve Marino and Jim Carroll, bassist Zechariah Ghostribe, and drummer Nick Lewis — allowing him to take the band in any direction he wants. In the case of COLD 2 THE TOUCH, it’s leaning hard into rock ’n’ roll swagger. “I’m The Outside” channels a Stone Temple Pilots riff; “Zero” rips into a bluesy, “When the Levee Breaks”-style solo; “Jesus Head,” in all its melodic wooziness, bleeds style.
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COLD 2 THE TOUCH, produced by Brian McTernan, a Baltimore legend in his own right, also features many of their hardcore peers: Scott Vogel of Terror, Wes Eisold of American Nightmare and Cold Cave, Frank Carter, Patrick Cozens of Restraining Order, and Taylor Young of Twitching Tongues and Deadbody.
Later this month, Angel Du$t will kick off their tour with a free show at Baltimore Soundstage, harking back to Turnstile’s Wyman Park Dell benefit. Their headlining run continues until May with a rotating cast of openers, including a couple of dates with Negative Approach. After playing some dates in Australia, they’ll head back to the U.S. to play Tied Down in Detroit. See the full tour routing here and stream Angel Du$t’s COLD 2 THE TOUCH below.
