FOUR STROKE BARON has today shared a new single and accompanying music video, Cyborg Pt. 3 (Because I’m God), from their upcoming fourth album, Data Diamond, set for release via Prosthetic Records on May 31. The Reno, NV progressive metal duo’s latest single serves as the third instalment in their Cyborg trilogy, following the success of Cyborg Pt. 2: The City from 2018 album Planet Silver Screen. The music video for Cyborg Pt. 3 (Because I’m God) is the second part of Data Diamond‘s planned four part visual narrative, which promises to unravel FOUR STROKE BARON‘s bloodthirsty anthology series.
Speaking on the single, FOUR STROKE BARON comments: “Cyborg Pt. 3 opens up some of the insanity in Data Diamond, the singles are going to get progressively crazier. The song leaves off from Cyborg Pt. II from our album Planet Silver Screen, with some motifs that we’ve inserted into each song of the series. Our moms really like this song.”
Of the music video, the band adds: “William and his business partner Robert unwittingly unleash a nightmare beyond comprehension. As William grapples with haunting nightmares, his sanity begins to unravel, revealing the sinister truth behind the otherworldly object. When Robert decides to harness the egg’s mysterious powers, they soon realize the horrifying consequences of meddling with forces beyond their control, plunging them into a nightmarish descent into madness and terror.”
Data Diamond is the sound of FOUR STROKE BARON at their most confidently unhinged. Originally conceived as two separate EPs (one purely electronic – Data, one heavy – Diamond) that would then meld together on one full length release, the idea morphed into what is now the succinct sucker punch of an album that is heading our way at speed.
Heavily inspired by their own work on Data Diamond’s predecessor, Classics, Witt and Vallarino got to work in their laboratory creating the most potent, concentrated form of FOUR STROKE BARON possible. “We love Classics, we think it’s one of the coolest albums ever”, the pair state unequivocally. If they have any criticism of their previous work it is simply that they didn’t push their own boundaries far enough, feeling like they took just a little too long to get to the point.
No such claim could be laid against Data Diamond – a dizzying sub-40 minute dive into the deranged psyches of its creators. The tracks on Data Diamond are lithe yet still allow enough room for idiosyncratic flourishes that mark this out as a true FOUR STROKE BARON opus. If Classics was a Man vs. Food belly busting plate of indulgence, Data Diamond is an upmarket Gordon Ramsay dish, served with a side of insanity. Finding a co-conspirator in Cynic’s Paul Masvidal, the trio get somewhat psychedelic on the album’s eponymous closing – and most expansive – track, which also features Vola’s Adam Janzi on drums.
Thematically, this is their most murderous anthology to date. Those who find themselves embroiled in these tales include a Radio Shack CEO, an internationally acclaimed cyborg, an accidental trafficker of human body parts, and the leader of a death cult located in a convenience store. FOUR STROKE BARON’s anomalous view of the world takes a particularly dark turn across the songs on Data Diamond, yet, as ever the macabre tragedies are dressed up with catchy melodies, pop hooks for days and a big shimmering bow of positivity.
Synths are a leading element across the length of the album, with more dark electronics seeping into the sound of the band than ever before – marking this out as the most experimental and intensely crazed the band have sounded to date. Samples recorded out in the wilds of Reno, Nevada weave their own kind of horror throughout the deliriously anthemic tunes laid down at FSB HQ, paving the way towards an incalculable future with limitless possibilities of where their minds will lead them next. It sure seems that they’re reaching a boiling point that will eventually tear a hole through spacetime. With this, their fourth full length, FOUR STROKE BARON has blossomed into the self-absorbed, wildly confident, musically deranged partnership that they were always destined to be – and it sounds incredible.
