Intensus Deliver 'Unholy' Preview To New Album 'The World Now, Still'
(SSP) Intensus, the solo studio project of multi-instrumentalist Eli Litwin, has unveiled the new single "Unholy," taken from the forthcoming album The World Now, Still, arriving September 25th on all streaming platforms.
"Unholy" distills the dense, experimental character of The World Now, Still into a collision of rhythmic complexity, dissonant heaviness and visceral vocals. Drawing inspiration from the weight and intensity of Neurosis, the song offers an accessible entry point into a record that continually pushes beyond conventional genre boundaries.
Litwin comments on the song: "As the album's most straightforward track, 'Unholy' is a good introduction to the sonically dense, yet musically accessible sound of The World Now, Still. As I explain in the song breakdown video (available on YouTube and Instagram), I began with percussion improvisations, transcribed those rhythms, performed them again on acoustic guitar, and then I play a little rhythmic trick with the entrance of the main riff. My biggest influence for the heaviness, tempo, and vocal delivery of the song was one of my all-time favorite bands, Neurosis. I lived in Philadelphia from 2001-2020, and I wrote the lyrics in 2018, in response to a PA Grand Jury report regarding decades of atrocities and systematic cover-ups. Google '2018 Pennsylvania Catholic Church cover-up' if you're unfamiliar."
The World Now, Still marks the first INTENSUS album since the project's self-titled 2011 debut, released by Metal Blade Records. Once again, Litwin performs every instrument himself, but this time he also takes complete control of the lyrics and vocals, resulting in an intensely personal record shaped by both his musical instincts and his response to the world around him.
Across seven tracks and 43 minutes, The World Now, Still moves freely between metallic hardcore, progressive and experimental metal, industrial textures, doom, electronic music and atmospheric passages. The album was built upon Litwin's drum improvisations, with those spontaneous performances becoming the foundation for increasingly intricate arrangements.
Litwin's broad musical vocabulary surfaces throughout the record, drawing from influences as far-ranging as Neurosis, Nine Inch Nails, Bjork, The Beatles, Death, Converge, Aphex Twin and Brian Eno, alongside the spontaneity of free jazz and the meticulous construction of progressive metal.
The album follows previously released single "Loathsome," an expansive piece that moves through acoustic passages and layered strings into metallic hardcore, industrial rhythms, extreme vocals, progressive death metal and a climactic symphonic black metal finale.
Outside of INTENSUS, Litwin is known for his work as drummer for JOHN FRUM (Relapse Records), KNIFE THE GLITTER (Party Smasher Inc.) and DEVEYKUS (Tzadik), among numerous other projects.
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