Watch If Hope Dies Smash Home a Message of Determination on ‘Brand New You’

At the 12th edition of crowdfunded music festival Control ALT Delete in Mumbai earlier this year, the Survive This stage got particularly madcap energy thanks to Sukna, West Bengal metal band If Hope Dies. Vocalist Aakash Sherpa, who was a beast on stage, recounts, “That BC/MC chant or encore thingy was icing on the cake. We knew that was a compliment.”

A few months on, the band is out with their latest song “Brand New You,” which Sherpa wrote for drummer Rupsang Lama. The frontman and producer says, “If your near and dear ones are going through hell and not keeping well, it is your job to make ‘em feel safe and tell ‘em ‘You could do this’ and ‘You can overcome any problem’ or ‘Fight to live another day.’ That’s what we did. We are in a much better space now.”

Bringing together swiveling, chaotic riffage and Sherpa’s harrowing growls, “Brand New You” follows their 2018 single “Secrecy” and ramps up a modern metal sound that borrows from deathcore, djent and more. It might be a hard hitting slab of rhythms to start with, but Sherpa is singing about resilience and persistence and the song gradually brings in anthemic choruses, clean vocals and even a horn section to close things off.

The monochrome video, shot on an iPhone by friend of the band Samir Chettri at their rehearsal space during the lockdown. Sherpa notes proudly that shooting the video didn’t cost more than Rs 100, considering the band directed the video as well. “Basically, there were lots of ideas under one roof,” he says. With this song out of the way, Sherpa confirms that If Hope Dies are still writing “tons of songs.” He adds, “We might release a couple of songs or maybe an album in 2020, you never know. Only time will tell.

Watch the video for “Brand New You” below.