Toothgrinder announce new album ‘I AM’

August 28, 2019 Harriet Anderson

TOOTHGRINDER have announced a brand new album!

The album, titled I AM, is the New Jersey band’s third album and is scheduled for release in October this year! The upcoming album was produced by Matt Squire (Ariana Grande, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, UNDEROATH).

Speaking about the new album, vocalist Justin Matthews says, “I AM… a mantra, a prayer, a mediation, a belief, a value, an all-encompassing way of life. The title speaks of unity and presence. Becoming comfortable in one’s own skin. To endure whatever life throws at you with grace and gratitude. To love the ones who surround you and accept the things you can’t control. I AM… two of the most powerful words, for what you put after them shape your reality. All of my life I have felt out of place, left out, a ghost, a phantom, a whisper in a sea of noise. I covered those deafening screams with abuse. Abusing others, friends, family, strangers, and most of all myself. I hurt the ones I love while still loving the one’s I hurt. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t dream, I couldn’t bleed, I couldn’t breathe. I have yet to right my wrongs, but I hope to start with a song.

The anger, the tension, the narcissism, the callousness, the ego were nothing but amplified in my previous words. The despair was covered up in anger and ego, the void was filled with things, all types of things. Bright things, dark things, shiny things, needless things, but never the right thing, never the real thing. I do my best to traverse through the negative and reach out a loving hand to those in need. This record’s words give hope rather than facade. This record’s words speak truth rather than perceived truth. This record exposes myself and the lies I have told myself and other’s. If I could accomplish one thing with this record, it would be to help one person in need. One person struggling with alcoholism, addiction, depression, anxiety, loss, guilt, shame, delusion, denial, perfectionism, co-dependency, suicidal thoughts and the list goes on. I am an open book, reach out to me with whatever you are struggling with, I have most likely been there.

We traverse the dark, we traverse the light, but by the end of the record we breathe. This is who I AM. This is who we are. I speak my mind, sometimes the shadow, sometimes my plight. If there is one word that can describe this record it is love. Not the facade, but the kind that cuts wood and carries water. My name is Justin and I AM an alcoholic, addict, and co-dependent. We are TOOTHGRINDER and this is I AM.”

Alongside the album announcement, the band have also released a new lyric video for the album’s title track.

Watch the official lyric video for I AM here: