When we last heard from Chicago’s EGXBH, it was early 2020 and the band had just released their twisted rock epic, the brilliant ‘Altered Beings’ EP. A truly impressive release, the EP carved out a raucous and wonderfully raw sound that hit like old-school Minor Threat and carried with it a jagged, unapologetic, and utterly unstoppable sound, and now, they’re back for round two.
Lashing out with a powerful rock single that channels the voice of hope and a chance for a new beginning, EGXBH has done what they do best, championing their uncompromising sound with the brilliant ‘Eight46’. Complete with a stark music video, the new single pulls you through a storm of emotion and the overwhelming disgust of how we as humans treat each other, breaking through the everyday muck and mire with lines like "Cause the whole world is burning, no matter what side you choose” and “Cause everything is changing, so you better change too”.
Musically, the song is absolutely undeniable, taking charge of their unique blend of dark, rolling melodies and blood pumping rock sounds, pushing their sound to the limit with a captivating example of true, untethered rock-n-roll. An undeniable anthem, the lyrics speak to all, no matter the colour of your skin or sexual orientation, no matter who you choose to love or be, and asks us all to help give voice to the belief that we should all just be kind and love one another.
Speaking candidly of the song, frontman Patrick Goray explained, "It took me a long time to piece together the chaos running through my head. Just trying to piece it together the right way to answer all the questions of why this had to happen? Why didn't anyone try to stop the cops from taking his life? What can we do to stand up and help? When I first started to write words for this it was more about using phrases filled with hate, anger, and not understanding. I wasn't taking the time to step back and gather everything that was going on. After multiple renditions of writing the song we, as a band, finally found our voice. We finally felt that we found the right way to pay respect and still say what we needed to say strongly with a powerful message behind the song."
He adds, "When we created the video it was the same idea: something powerful yet simple so you can grasp onto the words and emotions that we felt while writing it. We used the daffodils inside a Molotov throughout the video to symbolize change and rebirth of all destruction caused by us as humans. We also chose specific words like "Love" "Hate" "Hope" "Change" "Fear" "Pain" "Life" "Death" and "Justice" to help show that we have heard all your voices and we are here to stand up for what you believe in. The video ends with a shot of myself throwing a Molotov and not knowing where it goes was on purpose to resemble not knowing when the next tragedy will happen in this world. We wanted this song to mean something more than just music and words scribbled on paper. With everything we created we feel we did this movement justice and proud of what we said and did.
“’Eight46’ is more than just a song, it has so many symbolic easter eggs hidden within the title itself and the lyrics which, if you take the time to notice it will speak volumes. I even took a road trip from Chicago to visit George Floyd’s Memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota to soak in everything that I felt so strongly about. I felt I couldn’t just release this song without knowing where it all ended and where it all began. We took a lot of time to release this and respect all the underlining hate in civil justice. Everything we put together we wanted it to mean something more, including the way we phrased the song title by spelling out the number as ‘Eight’ to show the dramatic length it took to take a life and end it with the ‘46’ to symbolize how quick it ended (as well as being George Floyd's age at death). Also, the chorus' final statement of “Let them hear your voices proud as the new Daffodils” helps grasp onto a daffodil, which symbolizes rebirth, a new beginning, spring and change - an image that we feel voices the reason that something needs to change now. We wrote this song to help voice how we feel and to reach others that feel the same way. For standing up for what we believe in, even if we sometimes feel our voices don’t matter."
An undisputed triumph, along with a sharp critique of modern life, EGXBH have released ‘Eight46’ as a raw double single, including a short version for radio play and an extended version with a music video that takes you on a rollercoaster of emotion and tension for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the exact time George Floyd was held down for before his life was abruptly taken.
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