Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
New York hardcore veterans Cro-Mags are making significant progress on their next studio album, with frontman Harley Flanagan revealing that nine songs have already been recorded and another six are ready to enter the studio.
In a recent interview with WSOU 89.5 FM, Flanagan provided an update on the follow-up to the band’s 2020 album “In The Beginning”, explaining that the recording process is approaching its final stages.
We’re almost done with the new album. So we have something that should be [released], I’d say, early next year. I don’t know when exactly. But we got nine songs tracked [and] six more songs written that we’re gonna be tracking in a couple weeks… I always try to get a couple of extra in there, so six will probably turn into eight.
What was he inspired by?
It’s everything I grew up on. I’m always evolving, but it’s all those same ingredients. I mean, you got some Motörhead, you got some Bad Brains, you got some Discharge, you got all that stuff whipped up, some [Black] Sabbath. Everything heavy that I grew up listening to has always found a way to sneak into my music. All those things.
“Wired For Chaos” was part of the session for the new album. So that will give you kind of a reference to where the direction of this album has started. I actually recorded ‘Wired For Chaos’ and the other eight songs all together. So it’s a continuation of that same session. So you can expect more of that.
He also shared some insight about the songwriting process.
Well, I really don’t have a set way. I come up with riffs all the time. Sometimes when I’m walking around, I record them on my phone. Sometimes when I’m sitting on the couch… Well, you know what? It just comes when it comes. And typically the lyrics are a separate thing. I’ll get inspiration — well, more often than not as I’m falling asleep, I’ll start thinking of something, and I’ll have to just get up and write it down.
Then I have to somehow figure out how to make those words fit into the melodies that I’m hearing in my head. That’s where it gets tricky. But there’s really no set method. It just happens. I think it’s kind of a little bit of a mental disorder or something. The brain is just always fidgety. I get so flooded with ideas, a lot of times I’ll be, like, ‘I can’t even record this. I’ve been recording too many ideas.’ If it’s good, it’ll keep coming back to me.
Before the new studio album arrives, Cro-Mags will release “The Age Of Quarrel: 40 Years Of Quarrel” on November 13, 2026.
The project is a newly recorded version of the band’s influential 1986 debut, featuring fresh interpretations of songs such as “Hard Times”, “World Peace” and “Malfunction”, as well as the addition of the early track “Everybody’s Gonna Die”.
The recording brings together several musicians connected to Cro-Mags’ history, including original guitarist Doug Holland, former guitarist Rocky George and current members Dominic Dibenedetto and Dave Sharpe.
Additional contributions come from Meg Mills, Zach Blair and producer Arthur Rizk, while Greyson Nekrutman of Sepultura handled the drums. Rizk also produced and mixed the anniversary recording.
With the reimagined debut arriving in November and a collection of new material progressing toward completion, Cro-Mags appear set for an active period of releases extending into 2027.
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