Innovative post-hardcore band Murals have begun their musical journey with “Windbreaker”, out now on Equal Vision Records. Dedicated to the memory of late Feverwar singer Nicholous Thomas, the song features Kaonashi vocalist Peter Rono. “Windbreaker” kicks off with fast guitar blasts and caustic percussion that sound like anything but a first single, which can be attributed to the sizable experience each member boasts. Murals showcases three talented instrumentalists – Shane Gann of Hail The Sun / Sufferer (guitar), Blake Dahlinger of I The Mighty (drums) and Tony Bautista formerly of Mannequin Mishap (bass), alongside a revolving roster of vocalists. The main influences for this project are actual stories from the vocalists themselves, which drives the band to make powerful works that fully capture the feelings involved. While they may finish a song before it’s presented to the vocalist, they revise their arrangement and production approach to correlate the music to support the story being told. All three core members are rhythm-section players at heart, and the listener can distinctly hear their love for solid foundations and infectious riffs. You can stream “Windbreaker” here.
“Windbreaker” features a vocal tour de force courtesy of Peter Rono of Kaonashi, lending his singular style of emotive singing and lyrics to the song. The title of the track refers to Rono’s late friend and beloved Feverwar vocalist Nicholous Thomas, who was often seen wearing a ubiquitous blue and pink windbreaker.
On the themes of the song, vocalist Peter Rono has this to say:
“I wanted to take this chance to write a song for my friend Nicholous Thomas who passed. Since Kaonashi is a concept band, I don’t get many chances to speak on other things so I’m very glad I could do this for him. Feverwar forever.”
Guitarist Shane Gann has this to add:
“Suicide has sadly affected so many of us, and it seemed most fitting to start with Peter’s story, given that our previous project surrounded mental health. This song is our way of going a little further, to provide support in another area”
With the release of “Windbreaker” and other upcoming singles, Murals is placing emphasis on the importance of community. With each single drop, a portion of profits will be directly donated to organizations and causes of the vocalist’s choice in an effort to give back to those who need it most.
The single was self-produced, and recorded individually in Chico, CA (drums), Phoenix, AZ (guitars), and Houston, TX (bass) before vocals were added from southern New Jersey. “Windbreaker” is streaming now.
Murals is Shane Gann (guitar), Tony Bautista (bass) and Blake Dahlinger (drums)
About Murals:
Murals is an exciting and innovative new project which showcases three talented instrumentalists and an ever-rotating range of vocalists. Shane Gann (guitar) met Blake Dahlinger (drums) at a shared gig in 2012 where their personalities meshed seamlessly. Shane approached Blake in 2015 to play drums for a project called Sufferer – a stand-alone album about a day in the life with anxiety & depression. Shane and Blake recruited industry friend Tony Bautista (bass) as the touring bassist for Sufferer before being invited back to be involved with Murals.
After originally considering the potential future of Sufferer, the pandemic ended up changing Blake and Shane’s trajectory when they saw a broader set of opportunities opening up with the idea of Murals. The band’s mission is to offer support to those facing challenges and injustices in our modern world by collaborating with a range of artists speaking personally on issues they themselves have been affected by. The whole idea is to have different vocalists speaking not on these topics, but from these topics, to connect most earnestly with the groups they aim to support. Murals hopes this approach will allow them to channel the love & support within the creative community to help create real progressive, social change.