Brisbane alternative metal outfit The Local Romance are back with their claustrophobic new single, “Ecdysis“, out today, and they’ll celebrate the release with a hometown show at Tomcat Brisbane’s Halloween Party Night on Saturday 31 October. Tickets are on sale now.
“Ecdysis” digs into the uglier side of heartbreak; resentment, obsession, withdrawal and the emptiness that comes with finally accepting that someone you wanted to keep is no longer yours to hold onto. Dark, heavy and tense, the track mirrors the feeling of being unable to escape your own head, crafted around grinding guitars, punishing drums and an oppressive low end. It’s a song about knowing you need to move on, while being completely unwilling to let go.
“The title Ecdysis comes from the process of shedding an old layer of skin,” explains the band. “For us, that became the perfect metaphor for leaving someone behind. You don’t simply walk away from a relationship and become a new person. You rip yourself out of something that has become part of you. It hurts and leaves you exposed with no guarantee that what comes out the other side is better.”
The band leaned into a sense of discomfort with the track, using repetitive guitar lines and an unremitting rhythm to reflect the way memories, conversations and moments can replay long after a relationship has ended. “We didn’t want Ecdysis to sound like a sad song dressed up as metal. We wanted the instrumentals themselves to feel like the process of letting go. Abrasive, repetitive, exhausting and eventually destructive.”
“Ecdysis” follows on from The Local Romance’s debut EP The Darkest Parts of Me, released earlier this year exploring fear, internal battles and the parts of ourselves we usually keep hidden. The record established the band’s mix of heavy alt-metal, soaring melodies and cinematic atmosphere, while “Ecdysis” pushes that sound into darker territory.
The Local Romance is Kyle Jake Byrne (guitar), Kaleb Peleti (guitar), Zeph Chambers (vocals) and Caelan Sprott (drums), and the four-piece have already made their mark on the Brisbane heavy scene, sharing stages with I See Stars, Elijah, Hands Like Houses, Dream on Dreamer and Nevertel, as well as appearing at Good Things Festival in Brisbane alongside Fall Out Boy, Limp Bizkit, Corey Taylor, Behemoth, I Prevail and Make Them Suffer in 2023.
Brand new single “Ecdysis” is available and streaming everywhere now.
