Virginia crossover thrash heroes Enforced are about to follow up their 2019 debut album At The Walls with a new one called Kill Grid. Where At The Walls was a collection of rerecorded songs from earlier EPs, Kill Grid is all new, and the songs we’ve heard from it have all been great and hard as hell.

Today, following early singles “Hemorrhage” and “Malignance,” the latter of which made our Month In Hardcore and our 5 Best Songs Of The Week lists, the Richmond crew are back with another one. “Curtain Fire,” like always, walks the line between metal and hardcore, hurling riffs at your face like sledgehammers. Singer Knox Colby explains:

Also known as “the creeping barrage,” curtain fire is an artillery tactic used in tandem with advancing ground troops. It’s meant to soften up defenses or wipe them out completely. The lyrical narrative is on the defending end of curtain fire; ruminations on the death of soldiers, their grieving families, and how they’ll eventually be forgotten through time (a folded flag in a garage). The last few lines flip to the perspective of the attacker. With a very apathetic and unsympathetic attitude towards all the damage created, paving a parking lot over the conflict.

Guitarist Will Wagstaff adds:

This song came together from the supernova of many other riffs/versions of the song. It was originally an up-tempo fast metal beat type of song. We kind of scraped that when we came up with the intro and realized it could be a really catchy song. Knox’s lyrics work perfectly with this song and make it extremely catchy along with the head bashing and solos.

Listen below.

Kill Grid is out 3/12 on Century Media.