Melbourne alternative metal/metalcore quintet FUTURE STATIC make their hotly anticipated return in an unexpected, yet utterly electrifying fashion with a turbo-charged, metal fuelled cover of Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee’s 2004 global reggaeton hit, “Gasolina” – available now for aural and visual consumption via Wild Thing Records.
Electric front-woman Amariah Cook, born in Melbourne and raised in Barcelona, unites the vastly different metal and reggaeton worlds of her upbringing; presiding over the track in fluent Spanish, creating a venomous, chaotic take on the latin worldwide smash. “Gasolina” is a sucker punch of cacophonous riffs, ferocious drums, and raging vocals. The unforgiving arrangement by lead guitarist Ryan Qualizza transforms “Gasolina” into a concoction of woozy and fiery breakdowns, blaring and ruthless guitars, with a signature metal bite. Mixed and mastered by Sam Bianco(Tapestry, Cherry), the final product is gritty, grandiose, and galvanising in equal measures, showcasing the band’s fierce energy and beaming charisma in peak form.
The release of “Gasolina” doubles as the culmination of FUTURE STATIC’s meteoric growth and artistic vision following the band’s recruitment of Amariah Cook as its new vocalist in 2021, solidifying her as an integral part of the act’s core identity; following on from earlier acclaimed singles “Waves” (2021) and “Venenosa” (2022). What started as a happy accident turned fortuitous idea by Qualizza for a home-grown charity vinyl release, metamorphosed into something greater, especially so for their Australian-borne, Spanish-raised singer.
Amariah resonated with the prospect of reinventing a song that was so present in her childhood in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat district on the outskirts of Barcelona, home to a large number of people of Latin American descent, immersed in the reggaeton musical culture. Having grown up moving back and forth between the “True Metaleros” playing in bands and going to gigs, and polar opposites the “Reggaetoneros” dancing at nightclubs to Bachata and Merengue, Future Static’s interpretation of “Gasolina” enabled Amariah to finally bring together these two otherwise contrasting, yet equally crucial components of her teenage years.
Amariah explains, “Over there, the metalheads hate reggaeton, so bringing those two mortal enemies together was an entertaining idea for me. I’ve always had a part in my soul that wanted to try to merge these two socially and musically opposing groups together.” Amariah further reflects, “Apart from it connecting me to my Spanish roots, doing this cover also meant blending all of our lives together. Even though we were all raised in such vastly different lifestyles and places… It is one of those songs which was extremely popular all over the world, and with this cover, we strive to bring back that sense of planetary community.”
Accompanying the release of “Gasolina” is an appropriately high-octane music video directed by Colin Jeffs (Make Them Suffer, Alpha Wolf). Spanning seductive scenes, dangerous motor acrobatics, and a gallon of attitude, the result is a monstrously energetic masterpiece. Jeffs comments, “I am always about doing cool, hype clips that turn heads and I felt like this song was the perfect tune to do a head-turner to. We tried to pay homage to the original video, with it being sexy and fun. We tried to modernise that, and add our own flavour and flair to it. I think we did an excellent job of reimagining the song, whilst still keeping a lot of the flavour of what it was like back in the day.”
Between this latest single, debut international tour dates including performances at this year’s Reeperbahn and Euroblast festivals in Germany, and the release of its highly anticipated full-length debut LP incoming, 2023 is shaping up to be nothing short of explosive for one of Australia’s most talked about breakthrough heavy acts.
Lead Guitarist Ryan Qualizza summarises, “‘Gasolina’ is our way of getting people primed and ready for our debut album coming later this year. We wanted to do something different, and make a statement with this single, as a precursor to the record. Weather production, visuals, or sonic exploration, we’re taking things to new and exciting places.”
About FUTURE STATIC:
Melbourne quintet FUTURE STATIC create an exhilarating synthesis of alternative, melodic, and progressive to shape a unique brand of emotional heavy music which is unlike any other. New singer Amariah Cook’s debut singles “Waves” (2021) and “Venenosa” (2022) drew significant critical acclaim; landing fervent support from outlets such as Kerrang!, New Noise Magazine, Triple J, Spotify, and Apple Music. On the live front, the group have taken Australia by storm including festival performances at Knight & Day, Unify Forever, Unify Off The Record, Alpha Wolf’s CVLTFEST, performed at Bigsound to high industry praise, plus were hand-chosen as special guests for Jinjer, Voyager, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, RedHook, Caligula’s Horse, and Windwaker, just to name a few. With a late 2023 debut album release on the horizon, FUTURE STATIC are primed to make a lasting impression on the global stage, bringing its visceral fusion of heavy and alternative sub-genres to the world at large.
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