Legendary independent, New York-based rock label Equal Vision Records and Kaonashi are excited to announce the Friday, June 6 release of I Want To Go Home., the brand new full-length studio album from the Philadelphia experimental metal band (pre-order/pre-save HERE). The blistering follow-up to Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year and the second part of a concept series that was taken through three additional companion EPs, the 13-track I Want To Go Home. finds the band taking their metallic and melodic tendencies to deafening new heights that defy categorization, ultimately bringing this powerful and suspenseful saga to a close. Watch the music video for the album’s new single, “When I Say,” directed by Vic Antonio on YouTube HERE, and stream the track on all platforms HERE.
Additionally, Kaonashi will be hitting the road in support of I Want To Go Home. starting on Friday, May 30 at the Williams Center in Rutherford, NJ. Featuring support from Sabella, Ballista and Rakuyo in select markets, the tour will take in 17 evenings across the U.S. east coast, south and midwest, and culminate in an appearance at Kings in Raleigh, NC on Thursday, June 26. Tickets for all shows are on sale now via the band’s website HERE, and a full listing of dates can be found below.
Kaonashi’s music is difficult to define. It combines death metal growling, unexpected time changes and technical flourishes that bring to mind nineties metalcore legends like Coalesce and The Dillinger Escape Plan. However, there isn’t anything dated about the band’s sound — and in fact, there’s something inherently progressive about the Philadelphia trio’s unique brand of music. Although the act was started by vocalist Peter Rono and guitarist/vocalist Alex Hallquist in 2012, things really solidified for Kaonashi in 2016 when drummer Pao joined the band and they started touring all over the country, eventually gaining the interest of Equal Vision Records who released the band’s sophomore full-length Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year in 2021.
“[Conceptually], this album answers any questions anyone has ever had about the story,” Rono says, adding that the band’s 2024 EP collection — The 3 Faces Of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation Of Morgan Montgomery/A Second Chance At Forever: The Brilliant Lies From Casey Diamond — helps further expand on this compelling narrative. “It was written to be heavy, chaotic and overwhelming,” he summarizes.
Since 2021, Kaonashi have toured relentlessly with everyone from The Fall Of Troy to Protest The Hero, a fact that has made the band sound tighter and more ferocious on I Want To Go Home. “I think [touring] has influenced the record because we’ve been playing further out than we ever have to the most people we ever have and [getting] the craziest reactions we ever had this far from this band,” Rono explains. “I can’t help but take that into consideration when I’m writing because it's really inspired. Before I was just trying to prove to people that we were worth listening to and now we have a dedicated audience, so I want to provide the best music that I can.”
That said, it hasn’t always been easy for Kaonashi to be a band that exists on the outskirts of so many genres — and at times they weren’t even sure if their message would find an audience. “I’ve been saying this a lot on this tour to summarize the band, but people hate what they don’t understand and I think that’s been extremely polarizing,” Rono explains. “It hasn’t been this simple, easy trajectory, it’s been love and hate. It’s been one or the other and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The people who do understand it genuinely support us and the people who don’t actively dislike us,” he adds with a laugh. “So I embrace it and I love it and I’m glad it’s been that way… it’s been equally easier and harder.”
While it would be easier for Kaonashi to lean into an established subgenre, I Want To Go Home. sees them further pushing their musical boundaries and expanding their sound in the face of this admiration and criticism. So what keeps them inspired to continue working toward their unified sonic vision? “I don’t just go in and write a song, I go into it with aim and intention and try to emulate these things that I love,” Rono responds. “It just so happens that a lot of the things I love are polarizing artists that are creative and expressive for no other reason than just to make music that they like.”
Whether it’s guttural screaming or fingerpicked guitars, there isn’t any musical idea that’s off limits to Kaonashi, and that phenomenon is ultimately baked into the DNA of the band. “It really just comes from chasing the same thing I’ve always loved and what got me here in the first place,” Rono continues. “That hasn’t changed and it’s been like a through line of this band from 2012 until now: Extreme art, extreme aggression and originality. I’ve seen the easy way — and that’s just not the way I want to go.”
Kaonashi will be making the following appearances during 2025. Dates below with more to be announced soon.
APRIL
10 — Portland, OR — McMenamins Crystal Ballroom *
12 — Sacramento, CA — Ace of Spades *
MAY
30 — Rutherford, NJ — Williams Center ^
31 — Worcester, MA — Palladium Upstairs ^
JUNE
01 — Biddeford, ME — 2nd Floor 23 Lincoln Street ^
03 — Buffalo, NY — Amvets Medallion Post 13
04 — Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups ^
05 — Pontiac, MI — Pike Room ^
06 — Chicago, IL — Reggies #
07 — Lincoln, NE — Witches Brew #
09 — Denver, CO - D3 Arts #
13 — Mesa, AZ — Nile Theater #
16 — Tulsa, OK — The Vanguard ~
18 — Haltom City, TX — Haltom Theater ~
22 — Orlando, FL — Conduit ~
23 — Pompano Beach, FL — Grimz ~
24 — Tampa, FL — Orpheum ~
25 — Augusta, FL — Grantski Records ~
26 — Raleigh, NC — Kings ~
* — supporting Kim Dracula
^ — w/ Sabella, Ballista
# — w/ Rakuyo
~ — w/ Ballista, Rakuyo
I Want To Go Home. track listing:
Confusion In A Car Crash
Fairmount Park After Dark
Extra Prayers
When I Say
J.A.M.I.E. (featuring Anthony Green)
Red Sink, Yellow Teeth
Slower Forms of Suicide
Fly On The Wall (An Orange Sidewalk Paved Around Your Feet)
Elephant In The Room (If You Can Keep A Secret)
The Sanguine I — Nevermind, Narcissist
The Sanguine II — Misguided Malice
The Sanguine III — Auditorium Annihilation
The Sanguine IV — Exit Pt. VII (The Confession of Classroom 2114)