THE BEAST

With the release of their sophomore album ‘Delirium’ fast approaching, the Calgary-based thrash quartet HAZZERD have unveiled the record's breakneck opening track, “Sacrifice Them (In The Name Of God).” The song is now streaming on Spotify ( https://spoti.fi/3744Za8), Bandcamp ( http://bit.ly/30zoZze) and other digital platforms now.

Says drummer Dylan Westendorp, “'Sacrifice Them (In The Name of God)' is about extreme religious cults that take things too far to please their so-called God. This song is not about religion as a whole, but those people who take the idea of faith to the extreme – people who hunt down and kill innocent people because their God told them to. Musically, this song is one of our favorites, as it incorporates heavy, fast, melodic and intricate sections. It's sure to please the thrashers out there!”
 
“Sacrifice Them (In The Name Of God)” is the third preview track from ‘Delirium,’ HAZZERD's M-Theory Audio debut. It follows “A Tormented Reality,” which received its world premiere on Ross The Boss' Gimme Radio program (and was subsequently hailed by Metal Injection as “rip-roaring... leaves absolutely no survivors in its wake”), and “Victim Of A Desperate Mind,” a lyric video for which can be seen at this location: www.smarturl.it/hazzerd
 
‘Delirium’ – which is available now for pre-order (www.smarturl.it/Hazzerd) on CD, cassette and limited-edition blue/green haze colored vinyl – was mixed and mastered by Johnny Gasparic (Into Eternity) and features cover artwork by Andrei Bouzikov (Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, Skeletonwitch). The band will celebrate the album's release with a couple record release shows where they will perform live on January 24th in Calgary at The Dickens and January 31 in Edmonton at the Starlite Room . The group's next hometown show will take place alongside Flotsam and Jetsam on May 26.
 
HAZZERD was initially formed by drummer/lead vocalist Dylan Westendorp and guitarist Brendan Malycky, two Calgary teens who were inspired by the early work of thrash legends such as Overkill, Metallica and Anthrax. The group self-released their debut EP, ‘Victimize The Innocent,’ in 2014. The following year, the band recruited then-18-year-old lead guitarist Toryin Schadlich.
 
In 2017, soon after solidifying the group's lineup with the addition of bassist David Sprague, HAZZERD recorded their full-length debut, ‘Misleading Evil,’ which was released via Canada's World War Now Records. Featuring cover art by Bouzikov, the record was praised by Metal-Temple.com as “one of the strongest thrash releases of 2017,” while Dead Rhetoric called the album “an exhilarating aural ride” with a “Maiden/Priest-meets-early Metallica vibe.”
 
Last year, HAZZERD caught the attention of M-Theory Audio after being featured on Gimme Radio, where Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine championed the group as a promising thrash hopeful. He also included the band on his personal list of record collection picks, where HAZZERD were one of only two up-and-coming artists listed (the other being Power Trip).
In recent years, HAZZERD has performed alongside the likes of Striker, Vicious Rumors, Archspire, Spellcaster and Grim Reaper in addition to playing noted Canadian festivals such as Loud As Hell and Armstrong MetalFest. Lately, the group completed a successful string of shows north of the border with Hatchet.
 
Fans and members of the metal media can learn more about HAZZERD's influences by watching this short video, in which the group's members discuss four albums that left a lasting mark on them and inspired them when writing ‘Delirium’: