NASHVILLE |FROM: MAGGIE WANG/KRISTINE ASHTON
PRESSURE 4-5
SET TO RELEASE MAJOR LABEL DEBUT ‘BURNING THE PROCESS’
OCTOBER 2 ON DREAMWORKS RECORDS;
FIRST SINGLE “BEAT THE WORLD” SOON TO IMPACT RADIO
For their major label debut, BURNING THE PROCESS, slated for an October 2 release on DreamWorks Records, PRESSURE 4-5 have come up with a distinguished fusion of hard rock fury, vocal passion and thought-provoking lyricism. Fans have already been getting a taste of the California quintet’s music on this summer’s Ozzfest tour and at shows with Taproot.
Produced by studio guru Jay Baumgardner (Papa Roach, Orgy, Slipknot), BURNING THE PROCESS foregoes fashionable irony in favor of positive introspection. PRESSURE 4-5 sing about the everyday occurrences and dilemmas that really matter–work, faith, friends, love–and the need for resilience in the face of overwhelming challenges. “As individuals, we’re constantly learning and trying to figure things out–it’s an ongoing process,” says frontman ADAM RICH. “It’s what life is about, and we named this record BURNING THE PROCESS in honor of that.”
RICH and his PRESSURE 4-5 confederates–MARK BARRY and JOE SCHMIDT (guitars), LYLE MCKEANY (bass) and TOM SCHMIDT (drums)– showcase their positive musical approach on the intoxicating soon-to-be- released debut single “Beat The World.” Mixing smoldering guitars, primal rhythms and emotive vocals, “Beat the World” was composed in the wake of the sudden death of RICH‘s best friend. “This started out as personal writing for me and eventually turned into a song,” RICH explains. “I wanted to write about this event in a way that was more uplifting than ‘fuck it all, fuck the world’ kind of angst. We all know the world is a fucked-up place, but you can’t just turn your back on it. You’ve got to work with what you have, overcome it and be a better person for it.”
Despite their relative freshness on the hard music scene, PRESSURE 4-5 aren’t absolute beginners. Formed in January 1998, the band came together in Santa Barbara, CA, where the members all attended college. As befitting their positive, won’t-take-no attitude, the band gained immediate local notoriety and released an independent EP Antechnology on their own Dripping Records in 1999. They cut their musical teeth performing across the Southwest with local bands, also sharing stages with bands like Incubus, A Perfect Circle, Papa Roach and Black Eyed Peas.
PRESSURE 4-5 create blazing neo-metal with a humanistic lyrical center. Reflecting the attitudes of its individual members, the band’s songs tackle themes of non-conformity, personal loss and spirituality, yet resonate with an unswerving lust for life. “We’re not the kind of people who dwell on stuff that brings you down,” states bassist LYLE MCKEANY. “That’s just not our thing. We believe everyone has the power to make a change for the better.”
With BURNING THE PROCESS, PRESSURE 4-5 unleash their intelligent and aggressive songs on an unsuspecting public. The band’s members cite various influences including Failure, The Roots, Primus and Radiohead, while drummerSCHMIDT credits four years of jazz drumming for the building blocks of his style. The band has distilled these and other influences into a dual guitar assault. “One guitar can only do so much,” notes BARRY. “With two guitars, it’s just so much bigger, especially live–it sounds huge. Plus you have the whole band bringing different ideas and creativity to the table. We’re all guitar players and songwriters, which keeps us from getting stuck with a bunch of songs that sound the same.”
Look for PRESSURE 4-5 to tour behind BURNING THE PROCESS this fall. Check out www.pressure4-5.com for tour dates and regularly updated tour diary entries by the band.
# # #
