Premiere: Final Surrender Return with Surging New Song ‘A Perfect Lie’

Over the course of more than a decade, Bengaluru metal band Final Surrender have cycled through a handful of lineup changes that made them perform as a quintet, quartet and even a trio. It never dimmed the intensity and resolve to plough through stages, though.

Now, with the release of their upcoming EP Frogs In A Pan in December, Final Surrender are back with guitarist Sanjay Kumar (who helms instrumental act FOI) and performing as a five-member act. Comprising drummer-producer and vocalist Jared Sandhy, vocalist Joseph Samuel and guitarist James Stephenus, the band had previously inducted bassist Eric Gerald around 2019. The first taste of the renewed Final Surrender arrives with their lead single “A Perfect Lie.”

Prefaced by an ominous intro, the band rips into chaotic riffage, frenetic dissonance and quivering synth lines. Sandhy leads anthemic clean vocals in the chorus, adding to the dynamism. Samuel says about the track, “It brings out a stark contrast, which is what most of our songs do both musically and lyrically. Thematically, it is the beginning of a descent into the mental abyss of each of us, and it starts with a perfect lie which we want to believe, in willful ignorance.”

For Kumar, rejoining Final Surrender after about four years away is a “full circle moment.” He adds about coming back to an evolved and resolute band, “[It] felt amazing to notice how everything had changed but nothing really had changed. We had the same chemistry and it was like the old days again. As far as the songwriting goes, I tried to make the sound of the band as tight and polished as I possibly could. Jared’s songwriting skills give me great space for me to fill in and elevate the tracks to where they needed to be.”

The five-track EP digs into emotions of shock, monotony and inertia in life experiences. For a band who have injected everything from fusion elements to straight-up metalcore, Frogs In A Pan sees more synth action, originating in demos that Sandhy wrote starting in 2017. Bassist Gerald says, “Final Surrender’s approach to music has always been growing and evolving with the times, and yet, we’ve managed to retain our sound.”  

With the EP releasing on December 10th, Final Surrender will perform in Bengaluru between December and January. Guitarist Stephenus adds, “Apart from that we are looking at a five-city tour early next year in support of the EP as well.”

Watch the video for “A Perfect Lie” below.