Finnish hard rock band Serpico returns with a bang – new single “Hard as a Cannonball” out now

Finnish hard rock band Serpico signed a release and distribution deal with the American record label Golden Robot Records in 2024. Now the band announces that their upcoming full-length album “Dressed in Flesh” will be released on September 12th. The first single “Hard as a Cannonball” is now out with a brand-new music video.

The new album was recorded in Lappeenranta at Astia-studio, just like the previous one called “The Chosen Four”. Producer Anssi Kippo describes the new single as follows:

“A sense of danger, a brash rock attitude, genuine and honest playing, and vocals – these are what Serpico’s latest single ‘Hard as a Cannonball’ is made of. The band has kicked into turbo gear and delivers a delightful breath of the old-school vibe. And the song is confusingly good!”

The story of the song “Hard as a cannonball” is metaphorically a modern-day version of the duel of David versus Goliath, but at the same time it creates an image of a fight: Rocky Balboa versus Ivan Drago. At the same time, the story takes you into the middle of a chaotic battlefield, showing that pure fiction no longer exists – you stand tall and fight for your life because it is the only possible way to survive. No shelter, no refuge. However, in the world of values, you mean nothing to those who ultimately brought you to this situation.

The turbocharged and adrenaline-filled music video directed by Ville Juurikkala features not only Serpico, but also the 2024 FDS (Finnish Drift Series) pro-level Finnish champion Riku Autere in real competition situations. Drummer Jani Serpico told Chaoszine how the video’s theme was decided:

“The music video was originally a completely different idea, but after it fell through due to scheduling reasons, the current one happened by accident. I know Riku Autere through good friends of mine who are part of his official Autere Drift Team maintenance and racing team. I got the idea when we were checking out Riku’s racing videos at our Yankee car garage.

Then I presented the idea to Ville, and he was very excited about it. Next, we contacted Riku, and he joined the video – and even put a rivet bracelet on his wrist! The video was designed to have the vibe of Blade Runner and Terminator with lights and smoke. Ville’s work with the camera is something unique. He lives in the moment and can change his style and tactics in an instant.

You never quite know how something will be done or what will happen, but the result is always guaranteed to be great. Ville has a phenomenal ability to read minds: if I’m thinking about a certain color scheme, image or mood, he can capture it exactly – even though I hadn’t mentioned it.

The official race footage was provided by Just Do It FPV Team and Emil Riise, aka Antiground FPV, so big thanks to them once again!”

Ville Juurikkala summarizes:

“The best thing about Serpico is their authenticity and willingness to do their own thing, without caring too much about whether everything is polished to the last detail. We need performers like this in today’s world, where the music business – and art in general – is becoming far too calculated and focused on perfection.”

Serpico says that the new album is a kind of theme album, and “Hard as a Cannonball” represents the overall line of the entire album. As vocalist Vee Dour states: “In its own way, it’s a very violent package, musically and instrumentally – meaning that the entire album goes from start to finish at such a pace that the listener will probably be out of breath in the middle of it all.”

The common thread is people’s survival in different levels of life’s difficulties, such as war and love – interspersed with the band members own life experiences. As guitarist Snage says: “There are probably examples in modern times that pure fiction no longer exists.”

The recording sessions themselves also included real-life emotions, as Jani Serpico sums up:

“The whole start of this upcoming album was hard for me: the same day we arrived at the studio, I got a call that one of my best friends had died, and ‘Hard as a Cannonball’ was the first song which was recorded. I literally had to be hard as a cannonball and forget about my sorrows for a while because there was an album to make. “Dressed in Flesh” contains a lot of different life situations and difficulties. Maybe you can hear that the aggressions were released into the playing!”

Watch the new music video below:

Chaoszine visited Astia-studio last October while the recordings were in progress. An interview with the band will be released in June so stay tuned!

Serpico sends greetings to all Chaoszine readers:

“The new single and the entire upcoming album are suitable for all true rock ‘n’ roll, hard rock and even old school metal lovers. Especially for those who are looking for a change from today’s boring, tasteless, over-compressed and auto-tuned fake-rock trend, where you can’t tell the difference between bands just by listening to them. “Dressed in Flesh” is full of emotions, catchy melodies and incredible guitars!”

Serpico is:
Vee Dour – vocals
Snage – guitars
Matt Gee – bass
Jani Serpico – drums

Learn more about the band via Linktree.