Hey kiddos, a couple things going down right now.

1. Mixing for the album is done! Everything sounds fantastic and flows really nicely from track to track. This album is definitely a journey, and I hope, once it’s out, people will sit down with it and listen from start to finish. 

2. Rehearsals are underway. There’s a lot to learn—new songs, new parts, new effects, new software, and even new instruments for some people. Progress is happening surprisingly fast because these people are amazing, but I still don’t foresee us playing a show for a couple months still. You will be the first to know once anything is on the books.

3. RELEASE DATE - While I don’t want to jinx anything, right now I am looking at a possible release date of late fall. There’s a lot of little admin/legal/creative things behind the scenes that need to happen before any of this goes out to the public. But I am going to be trying as hard as I can to get it out THIS year and not 2027.

4.Behind the scenes - enjoy this unfiltered little behind-the-scenes tidbit of the song “Dancing”

Until next time!

Love,
Rust

Hello Friends,

It’s been a few months, but I just wanted to check in and give you some updates that I’m personally very excited about!

ALBUM UPDATE:

Recording for the upcoming album, HYDRA’S RUIN, is done! After having to take a month off to recover from the flu from Hell, I was nervous for last weekend’s recording session because my voice didn’t feel 100%. But I am ecstatic and relieved that everything turned out great! Now for some final mixing and polish over the coming weeks and it should hopefully be completely done!

Once finished, I won’t be releasing the album via traditional methods—not right away, anyway. I hate being a slave to the streaming algorithm, Spotify is garbage, and I don’t want my work scraped for AI slop. Instead, I will be releasing the album here, on my website, as well as on a few select other spots like Bandcamp. I am currently looking into the logistics of a physical release—CD is likely, vinyl maybe, if enough people want it. It will stay out in these select spots exclusively for ONE FULL YEAR before going out to streamers. As soon as I have dates for any of this confirmed, you’ll be the first to know.

LIVE NEWS:

Last year after the show at The Mint, the live lineup fell apart a little bit. Eric, who played bass, decided to pack up his family and move to Costa Rica; considering the fast-deteriorating techno-fascist dystopian hellscape we’re living in now, I don’t blame him at all.

There were multiple other scheduling conflicts as well and soon much of my energy was being spent on a new 9-5, MMIX Art vending, and then, beginning in February, recording. But now that recording is finished, things are looking up!

I’ve beens able to recruit some very talented individuals—one to step in for Eric on bass, and another to play live synths. More details to come. Rehearsals will be starting later this month to hopefully play some shows this fall/winter around the album's non-streaming release.

That’s all for now. Updates will hopefully be much more frequent from here on out. Keep your eyes peeled for some BTS footage coming your way soon!

Love,
Rust