METZ enlist IDLES’ Joe Talbot for new single, ‘Come on Down‘
The punk outfits reinforce their transatlantic alliance
By Joe Goggins
METZ have shared a new, collaborative single with Joe Talbot of IDLES.
The Canadian punk trio have teamed up with the leader of the similarly uncompromising Bristol outfit for the blistering ‘Come on Down’, which you can see the Bass Tone-directed video for below. It is streaming now along with another, previously unreleased METZ song, ‘Heaven’s Gate’, which is available for the first time outside of the video game it was penned for, Cyberpunk 2077.
Speaking about the collaboration with Talbot, METZ frontman Alex Edkins revealed that the song came to be during the making of 2020’s critically-acclaimed fourth LP, Atlas Vending. “‘Come on Down’ was originally recorded during the Atlas Vending sessions, but never fully finished,” he said. “During the pandemic, I really gravitated towards the idea of collaboration as a way to fill the void left by the loss of live music.”
“I reached out to friends from far and wide in order to get that feeling of community that gigs provide,” he continued. “Joe Talbot is a longtime friend who METZ has shared the stage with many, many times, and this song was a very natural and fun way to catch up with him and do something positive with our time off the road.”
For his own part, Talbot added: “METZ have been a band we’ve looked up to since they came into our lives and made things better. I will never forget the first time I saw them, or any of the other times. Allowing me to sing with them is a gift, and I hope you like it. I love it and I love them. Long live METZ.”
Having completed the promotional cycle for Atlas Vending, METZ are now taking a rare look backwards as they play their self-titled debut album in full on a North American tour in October and December, to celebrate its 10th anniversary. There are no details as yet on any UK dates. Additionally, Edkins continues to work on his Weird Nightmare side project, having released a self-titled debut album earlier this summer; a split seven-inch with Ancient Shapes is due next month.