THE BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCE MEGATONS WITH THE ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED “THE GNARLYCORE CLASS”

The Barbarians of California are back and still sound like they’re trying to fight the speakers. The band has announced their sophomore album Megatons, due out August 21, while also dropping the ridiculously chaotic new single “The Gnarlycore Class.”

The track is pure mayhem in the best possible sense. Hardcore, noise rock, metallic riffs, blown-out punk energy, it’s all smashed together into something that feels grimy, fast, and slightly dangerous. “The Gnarlycore Class” sounds like a band actively trying to see how far they can push things before the wheels come off, and somehow they keep it locked in the whole time.

The video rules, too. It finds the band trapped in a classroom, with frontman Aaron Bruno essentially playing the unhinged teacher, leading the chaos from the front of the room. The whole thing has serious Billy Madison energy mixed with a punk show gone completely sideways. It’s weird, loud, stupid in the best way, and fully commits to the bit from start to finish.

“Everyone has heard of the sophomore slump,” states Stenman. “Making a second album can be a fraught process full of overthinking and self-doubt. Perhaps the benefit of us starting this band at this later point in our lives relieves some of that pressure. This felt so easy, and is a seamless continuation of whatever we started with the first batch of songs, just bigger and better.”

What’s made the Barbarians of California stand out so quickly is how little interest they seem to have in playing things safe. There are traces of hardcore punk, alt metal, industrial weirdness, skate-culture chaos, and straight-up rock-and-roll stupidity bleeding into the same songs. It shouldn’t work this well, but it absolutely does.

The band also announced a run of headline shows, festival appearances, and upcoming dates supporting Guns N' Roses, which honestly feels like the exact kind of unpredictable crossover this band was built for.

Preorder Megatons by clicking HERE!

MEGATONS TRACK LISTING:

"BACK TO THE VALLEY"
"THE GNARLYCORE CLASS"
"VANILLA LATTE"
"BOMB TO A KNIFE FIGHT"
"REALLY REALLY RAD"
"MEGATONS SEGUE"
"EARTHQUAKE"
"THIS IS SHREDICAL"
"HIDE ALL YOUR RECORDS"
"MODERN FASHION"
"SHARK OUT OF WATER"
"I AM THE SUBMARINE"

THE BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA LIVE:
8/19 — Kansas City, MO — Morton Amphitheater*
9/6 — Pryor, OK — Rocklahoma Festival^
9/8 — Nashville, TN — Exit In
9/9 — St. Louis, MO — Blueberry Hill Duck Room
9/11 — Omaha, NE — Waiting Room
9/12 — Ridgedale, MO — Thunder Ridge Nature Arena*
9/14 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th St. Entry
9/15 — Milwaukee, WI — Cactus Club
9/17 — Chicago, IL — Cobra Lounge
9/18 — Cleveland, OH — The Foundry
9/19 — Louisville, KY — Louder Than Life Festival^
*With Guns N’ Roses
^Festivals