THICK – Heavy Metal

THICK’s new single “Heavy Metal” is a blistering feminist anthem about the daily violence of living in a body the world won’t stop legislating, medicating, and endangering.

In this first recording featuring the band’s evolved lineup, each verse relates back to the band’s experiences addressing assaults on bodily autonomy, the lack of accessible healthcare, systemic failures to address mental health crises, and the new norm of shooter safety drills in schools, while questioning whether “conscious consumerism” is even possible in late-stage capitalism.

Building on their previous works produced by Will Yip and Joel Hamilton and released on Epitaph Records, THICK continues to reinforce itself as a punk powerhouse. This self-released single recorded in Brooklyn at Studio G with Jeff Berner preserves the band’s rebellious streak, packaging grievances in a dance-forward anthem. The writing process was spontaneous, stemming from a band practice just a few weeks before entering the studio. Lyrics and parts were finalized together in the studio and the vocal track was recorded with the band together in the booth, capturing the essence of togetherness pushing back against the world.

On the track, THICK share: “This song started as a verse or two after the Berkeley study came out about heavy metals being found in tampons and snowballed into a larger indictment of the systemic violations that we carry around every day.

The violence and neglect we experience is a predictable result of systems that don’t see us as people, but objects to be exploited. You see it in the imbalance of consequences: Survivors of rape are often shunned if they go public or carry the weight of assault alone, a woman carries the full burden of contraception, health risks and medical costs around conception, putting money into insurance companies’ pockets while bodily autonomy continues to be challenged and eliminated in some states. Teachers are responsible for protecting kids from school shooters, while pharma companies see an opportunity for profit in the degradation of our mental health.

We’re sold the idea that we can subvert the system with consumer choices, as if the main fix for a broken system is trying harder inside it. The real issue is who benefits when people are too broke and too tired to push back.”

The band will be celebrating the release at The Broadway in Brooklyn, NY on October 10 with support from Big Girl and Cotillion.

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