It's here. It's finally here. The Armed — the quasi-anonymous Detroit collective who bend hardcore into noisy, shining, philosophical new forms — have announced their new album Perfect Saviors, the follow-up to 2021's acclaimed ULTRAPOP.
The album is due out later this summer, and it features contributions from an eclectic bundle of guests; Queens of the Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen, Converge collaborator Ben Chisholm, Nine Inch Nails compatriot Justin Meldal-Johnsen, singer-songwriter Julien Baker, Illuminati Hotties bandleader Sarah Tudzin and more.
To preview it all, The Armed have dropped a brand new song called "Sport of Form" that, in true Armed fashion, comes paired with a dazzling, cinematic video — this one featuring punk godfather Iggy Pop!
Check it above via YouTube.
In a press release, vocalist Tony Wolski (who used to go by the pseudonym Adam Vallely) explained the band's philosophy for Perfect Saviors, which follows several highly thematic albums that served as post-modern commentaries on art, commerce and the waning subversion of alternative music.
"Too much information has made us dumb and confused," Wolski said. "Too many ways to connect have inadvertently led to isolation. And too much expectation has forced everyone to become a celebrity. Predictable primal dangers have given way to newer social ones. And the result is a world that is confounding and terrifying — but ultimately still beautiful.
"We hope this record is exactly all of that, too. Perfect Saviors is our completely unironic, sincere effort to create the biggest, greatest rock album of the 21st century."
The album is out August 25th and pre-orders are available here. Additionally, The Armed have announced a series of fall headlining shows with support from Model/Actriz, Shutups and Spaced. See those dates below after the jump.
The Armed, Model/Actriz, Spaced, Shutups tour dates:
10/19/23 Los Angeles, CA ^
10/21/23 San Francisco, CA ^
10/23/23 Portland, OR ^
10/24/23 Seattle, WA ^
11/16/23 Boston, MA *
11/18/23 Baltimore, MD *
12/15/23 Detroit, MI +
12/16/23 Chicago, IL
^ Shutups
*SPACED
+Model/Actiz