Comeback Kid Announce Eighth Album ‘Chosen Hell’ and Release Title Track

Releases

Canadian hardcore veterans Comeback Kid have announced their eighth studio album, Chosen Hell. The record arrives on November 6 via SharpTone Records, with the band releasing its title track as the first taste of their next chapter.

Produced alongside Will Putney, Chosen Hell follows 2022’s Heavy Steps and brings Comeback Kid back with eleven new tracks. The album also features guest appearances from Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox and Brendan Garrone of Incendiary, connecting one of hardcore’s most established names with two prominent voices from the current heavy scene.

‘Chosen Hell’ explores the choices we make

The newly released title track introduces one of the central ideas behind the record: the consequences of our own decisions.

Vocalist Andrew Neufeld explains that “Chosen Hell” deals with morality, ethics and the ability to distinguish between choices that help us and those that ultimately hold us back. It is an idea built around personal responsibility rather than an external enemy. Sometimes, the situations causing damage are ones we knowingly continue to choose.

That theme gives the track a distinctly introspective edge without moving Comeback Kid away from the directness that has defined their music for more than two decades.

Will Putney behind the controls

For Chosen Hell, Comeback Kid worked with producer Will Putney, whose extensive background in hardcore, metalcore and modern heavy music makes him a natural fit for the band.

According to Neufeld, Putney’s existing familiarity with Comeback Kid proved important during the recording process. Rather than approaching the band from the outside, the producer already understood where they came from and what they were trying to achieve.

The writing itself also became more collaborative than on previous Comeback Kid records. Neufeld says he allowed more input from the other members this time, with the band collectively playing to their individual strengths.

For a group that has been active since 2000, that shift could make Chosen Hell particularly interesting. Comeback Kid have a clearly established identity, but the process behind album number eight appears to have left more room for different voices within that framework.

Spiritbox and Incendiary join the record

Two of those additional voices come from outside the band.

Courtney LaPlante, vocalist of Spiritbox, appears on the album’s third track, “Shedding Season.” Her contribution brings together two very different generations and interpretations of heavy music from Canada.

Later in the album, Incendiary vocalist Brendan Garrone appears on “Yesterday’s Gone.” Given Incendiary’s position within contemporary hardcore, his presence feels particularly connected to Comeback Kid’s own roots.

The collaborations also reflect the unusual position Comeback Kid now occupy. The band emerged from Winnipeg’s hardcore scene more than 25 years ago, but have remained part of a genre that continues to reinvent itself around them.

More than two decades of Comeback Kid

Comeback Kid formed in Winnipeg in 2000 and initially featured Andrew Neufeld on guitar before he took over lead vocals. Albums such as Turn It Around, Wake the Dead and Broadcasting… established the band internationally and helped make them one of Canada’s most recognisable hardcore exports.

Their influence has subsequently stretched well beyond the generation they originally emerged alongside.

Rather than settling into a legacy role, however, Comeback Kid have remained a consistently active touring and recording band. Heavy Steps arrived in 2022, and Chosen Hell now continues that run four years later.

With Putney producing and contributions from musicians connected to both contemporary hardcore and modern metal, album number eight looks positioned between that history and the scene Comeback Kid are still actively part of today.