KARATE STEVE: No Clean Singing Premieres “Time Under Tension”
Karate Steve - photo by Matt Bass
KARATE STEVE: No Clean Singing Premieres “Time Under Tension” Video From Boston Metal Outfit, The Title Track To Their Third Album, Nearing Independent Release On October 24th.
“…KARATE STEVE create an energizing but also stressful amalgam of sensations and moods.” – No Clean Singing
Stream KARATE STEVE’s “Time Under Tension” HERE.
No Clean Singing is hosting the premiere of a new video from Boston, Massachusetts-based metal quartet KARATE STEVE. The video was created for the title track to the band’s third album, Time Under Tension, nearing release in October.
Formed in 2015, KARATE STEVE is embodied by guitarist/vocalist Ben Davis, lead guitarist/vocalist Robb White, bassist Earl Brown, and drummer Zach LeWinter. Drawing from a wide array of influences – from ‘90s death metal and hardcore to thrash, sludge, and more – the band’s hybrid of styles culminates into a unified alloy that centers around one thing: The riff. Lyrically, the song content shifts from politics to loss to self-improvement and more, with a commanding vocal delivery that drives the chaotic but cohesive instrumentation. Fans of High On Fire, Mastodon, Chimaira, Arsis, Darkest Hour, and fellow Massachusetts acts Shadows Fall, Unearth, Diecast, and Sam Black Church will all hear something both familiar and motivating in the KARATE STEVE sound.
The band has built up a following across the Northeast US performing alongside regional acts like Gozu, Worshipper, Viqueen, Bedtimemagic, Dwelley, Goblet, and Swamphead, a set at RPM Fest with Weedeater, Moon Tooth, King Parrot, and more, as well as through their two prior albums, Living To Let You Down and No Way Out But Through.
KARATE STEVE now delivers their third album Time Under Tension. The nine tracks unload a nearly-thirty-minute wall of thunderous metal, with parts both chaotic and straightforward, stacked with groove and grit, and made to be played at a crushing level of volume. The band returned to Boston music scene luminary Alex Allinson at The Bridge Sound & Stage (Lesotho, Miracle Blood, The Freqs, Bedtimemagic) – who manned the boards for the previous release, and again helped the band realize their vision, almost acting as a fifth member – after which Time Under Tension was mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering (Unsane, KEN Mode, Great Falls).
The new video for the album’s title track was filmed and edited by Matt Bass. With its release, Davis reveals, “We chose ‘Time Under Tension’ as the title track because we feel like it thematically represents the rest of the record. Lots of riffs and turnarounds, and a cool solo section. It's a song about anxiety attacks and insomnia, which are probably relatable topics for most people, considering the current climate.”
No Clean Singing writes, “In this song KARATE STEVE create an energizing but also stressful amalgam of sensations and moods. The drums pop, thump, and clatter, like the kit’s set up inside the listener’s skull. The bass creates bowel-loosening plunder. The slashing and squirming riffage is head-hooking but disturbingly feverish. The vocals sound like a cross between a madman’s scream and a wolf’s rabid snarl, as raw as roadburn. The combined effect is simultaneously muscle-moving and head-scrambling, simultaneously mean and mad, and even more head-scrambling when the band shift into a rapidly jackhammering groove, providing the backdrop to a guitar solo that sounds like demented ecstasy.”
Check out KARATE STEVE’s “Time Under Tension” video first at No Clean Singing RIGHT HERE.
Time Under Tension will be released digitally on October 24th with physical versions to follow. Find digital preorders where the track “Gentrifier” is streaming HERE.
KARATE STEVE will be delivering their new tracks to fans across the Northeast surrounding the album’s release, with shows in September and October booked and more coming together.
KARATE STEVE Live:
10/02/2025 Lucky 13 Saloon – Brooklyn, NY
10/03/2025 ask a punk – Potsdam, NY
10/04/2025 ask a punk – Utica, NY
10/24/2025 Cherry St Station – Wallingford, CT
Review copies of Time Under Tension are being dispatched right now. To review the album and book interviews with KARATE STEVE, please contact dave@earsplitcompound.com.
https://karatesteve.bandcamp.com
Karate Steve - Time Under Tension
Karate Steve - photo by Matt Bass
Earsplit PR | David Brenner | www.earsplitcompound.com
