guccihighwaters’ third album for Epitaph, DEATH BY DESIRE is his boldest and most adventurous record to date—a result of the project’s mastermind Morgan Murphy taking the creative wheel and hitting the gas at 100 MPH, putting every element of his musical acumen into these 12 songs. After releasing joke’s on you in 2021—as well as the extensive touring that followed—Murphy felt creatively unsure of where to go next. ”I was in a standstill,” he explains. “I was putting out a lot of singles and doing sessions with producers and songwriters, and I wasn’t connecting with what I was making.” Instead of throwing in the towel, Murphy got to work on writing and self-producing the luxurious alternative pop sound that would become DEATH BY DESIRE. “I locked myself in the studio every day and really just focused on reinventing myself,” he recalls. “I was making something that was untouched by anyone else. I knew it was gonna be a hard task, but it was also the only way for me to feel like I accomplished something that I love.”
From small-town girl to now a part of the Epitaph Records family, Royale Lynn has been experimenting with a nostalgic alt-metal influenced, hard-rock sound that has resonated with over 1 Million followers across socials and over 65 Million global streams. Proving her prowess for bridging the gap between two seemingly different worlds, on her full-length debut, the self-professed “metalhead from a small town” brings an extensive musical acumen and deep songwriting roots to elevate her visual and sonic identity. Over the past year Royale has scattered previews of the record with hard-hitting singles like “DEATH WISH” featuring Danny Warsnop (Asking Alexandria), a song dedicated to first responders which landed at #27 on the rock radio charts. Unafraid to tackle serious topics within her music, “BATTLEGROUND” chronicles the tumultuous experience of escaping a toxic relationship and emerging stronger and more resilient, while the powerful music video for “SACRIFICE” paints a visual picture of the darkness that can accompany mental illness.