The Number Twelve Looks Like You announce first album in six years and unleash new single 'Joy Is A Weapon' • GRIMM Gent

Legendary independent New York-based rock label Equal Vision Records in partnership with Rude Records and The Number Twelve Looks Like You are excited to announce the Friday, October 16 release of Howls From The Holographic Heart, the New Jersey-bred progressive metalcore band’s brand new studio album. Produced by Jeremy Cormitas (Senses Fail, Chiodos), Trae Titus, and The Number Twelve Looks Like You’s Alexis Pareja, Howls From The Holographic Heart finds the band once again throwing themselves into their art in a way that stays true to their enduring vision. “This is a very honest album,” frontman Jesse Korman explains. “We don’t want to live up to what everyone just expects of us, and at this point in our career, we have nothing to lose.” Pre-order, pre-save and pre-add Howls From The Holographic Heart on all platforms HERE.

With the announcement of the album, the band has also released the music video for “Joy Is A Weapon.” Featuring Foxy Shazam, “Joy Is A Weapon” is about refusing to let anger, bitterness, or the people who hurt you define who you become. “Sometimes the most powerful act of rebellion isn’t fighting back,” the band says, “it’s finding joy any way possible and refusing to be broken.” Watch the music video for “Joy Is A Weapon” on YouTube HERE.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You have never been a band that follows trends, and they aren’t about to start now. Correspondingly, for the band’s sixth full-length, Howls From The Holographic Heart, the New Jersey-bred act once again indulged their creative impulses to create an album that no other group of musicians could possibly create. “For this album, we wanted to do what The Number Twelve Looks Like You does and write something that is just completely unexpected,” explains vocalist Jesse Korman of the band’s follow-up to 2019’s Wild Gods. In order to accomplish this, Korman and his bandmates—guitarist Alexis Pareja, bassist Cody McCorry and drummer Michael DeMarco—leaned into both the technical and melodic wizardry that has established them as post-hardcore innovators for the past two decades without trying to consciously shape the outcome in any particular artistic direction.

Howls From The Holographic Heart is a showcase of the diverse influences that contribute to the band’s overall sound. From the chaotic screamo of the album opener “Trust Chaos” to the salsa death metal vibe of “Joy Is A Weapon” (which features Foxy Shazam) and progressive pop of “Glow In The Dark Skin, ” the album may not make sense on paper, but works perfectly in its execution. “I always try to write lyrics that capture the moment, so I continued that trend,” Korman explains. In that spirit, “Dancing Before The Flood” was about the vocalist’s response to the COVID pandemic while “Joy Is A Weapon” is an ode to anti-violence. “If you just look back at every single album we’ve made, it’s just a timestamp of that time period, so ‘Howls From The Holographic Heart’ is just an extension of that,“ Korman says. “It’s a timestamp of the duration of seven years.” Whether the vocalist is stretching out vocally on songs like “Become A Ghost” or screaming with vitriol on “Trust Chaos,” that sincere sentiment never wavers.

From the cover image and music to the overall aesthetic, Howls From The Holographic Heart is a cohesive collection of songs that isn’t necessarily meant to appeal to everyone. That sense of liberation lies at the core of this album and explains why it’s such a powerful artistic statement for the band. “At the end of the day, we really choose our path,” Pareja summarizes, “and hopefully people enjoy it.”