As mentioned, Maine hardcore band War Criminal are self-releasing their sophomore EP God Failed Me this Wednesday, 12/16 (pre-order). It was recorded and produced by Evan Sammons (who's also worked with The Contortionist, Kaonashi, and others), and Josh Compton of Forced Under features on the single "Unforgiving." It's five tracks of brash, abrasive, '90s-style metallic hardcore, and War Criminal do justice to their forebears while keeping their sound fresh.

We're premiering a stream of the full EP ahead of its official release, and the band also gave us a track-by-track breakdown of each song. Listen and read on for what they had to say…

113"

This song was named after the exit our guitarist took every day to visit his father in the hospital. It was written solely to try to get people moving as quickly as possible. We had been playing the intro from our debut EP to open our sets for two plus years so we felt it was time to change it up.

"False Hope"

The lyrics dive into being told your whole life that there’s a God who loves and cares, but not being able to follow that narrative. When you’re dealt bad hand after bad hand in life, it’s hard to believe a higher power is looking out for your best interests. The title of the EP is actually taken from the line “I didn’t fail God, God failed me” from the song. We almost knew as soon as that lyric came to fruition it would be the EP title.

"No Way Out"

“No Way Out” was written about struggling with depression and anxiety. Sometimes it feels no matter what you do, you’re forever trapped in your own head.

"Smile Lines"

Like “No Way Out” this continues on the topic of depression, but from more of an outside perspective. It’s about trying your hardest to appear that everything is fine, just so you don’t have to explain yourself.

"Unforgiving"

“Unforgiving” was the last song written for the EP and is about people who have done you and many others wrong, yet they’re still celebrated as a great person. True colors aren’t very hard to see sometimes, yet people will always look the other way.