HAWK (Ricky Armellino of Ice Nine Kills) Returns With New Line-Up & Single "JUSTIFY"


Lancaster, PA based band HAWK, fronted by Ice Nine Kills’ Ricky Armellino, have released their new single “Justify”, which can be heard here.

To speak on the theme behind the song, which was exclusively premiered on SiriusXM Octane this week, Armellino stated “It’s about that imposter syndrome when you get mad enough to overcome a toxic situation and you’re left wondering if you grew up or got as toxic.”

Adding, “For whatever reason the whole tone of the song reminded me of the legend of Archangel Michael- He shows up in nearly every religion, he’s pissed off, and even though his whole identity is doing the right thing, he privately disagrees with how everything is done.”

To accompany the release of “Justify”, the band teamed up with director Tom Flynn (Lamb of God, All That Remains) on a music video which tells the story of a group of friends that strikes a deal with extraterrestrials to obtain all the firearms in their town in exchange for a cash reward. The band shot part of the video themselves in their hometown of Lancaster, PA during breaks from touring with Ice Nine Kills, while working with Flynn on the music performance footage. Armellino described the shoot as having “the best vibe,” with only one minor run-in with the police - an improvement for the band.

With “Justify” marking HAWK’s first new music since the 2020 EP ‘Tolerance’s Paradox’, the band re-emerges with drummer Adam Reed returning, while adding Cody Nierstadt (Wu-Tang Clan) and Mike Monto on guitars along with Drew Hansen (Awake At Last) on bass.

“The whole process started with writing sessions led by Josh Strock; a totally new beast emerged out of that. We wanted to step away from the “genre specific” stuff we were doing and we started writing totally differently than we had before. Whereas before we were really focused on building songs around riffs, this time we were talking about textures and referencing visual elements. We wanted to try something totally different.” Armellino added, “Jesse Zuretti (Daath) helped create a really cinematic, dark synthwave feel on “Justify” that took the song to a totally different universe.” This creative journey marks a reemergence for HAWK, as they redefine their sound and vision.


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