Los Angeles hard rock 5-piece, LIONS AT THE GATE have dropped their second single today. Titled "Scapegoat", the track is driven by massively heavy riffs, a thunderous rhythm section, intricate guitar work and the sublime juxtaposition of Cristian Machado's furious screams and soaring clean vocals. The track arrives accompanied by an official music video shot by Vicente Cordero. You can stream "Scapegoat" here
Speaking on the new track, frontman Cristian Machado shares
"Scapegoat was a song brought in by Ahrue. Everyone liked the song immediately, including our producer Kyle Odell. The instrumental had a chilling and beautiful metallic melody. I was quickly moved by the music and began to wonder about my own life. From there we began to sculpt a message. Dysfunctional people don’t want to apologize or make amends, they want to resolve what’s broken in them by damaging others. It’s their great misconception that the scapegoat will be weak and remain powerless when it takes great strength to carry a burden you bare no guilt in.
"Kyle and I realized early on that I was going through a very challenging time in my life with no outlet other than the music, and that perhaps this was what I needed to begin healing. A lot of painful memories were dug up and dealt with whilst recording. I am grateful the guys had the patience to help me work through it, and that music is still in my life. Hopefully these songs can speak to other like minded people and offer a sense of healing.
"The video for scapegoat is a performance art video. The band individually portrayed personal emotion as part of the art. Vicente Cordero’s approach allowed us to feel comfortable in an environment where the performance and the emotion is the focus."
Los Angeles, California based band LIONS AT THE GATE, featuring ex-members of Machine Head, Ill Niño, Westfield Massacre, and Silence The Messenger, proves that new horizons can always be climbed.
The band formed in late 2019, with a new lease on creativity and determination. LIONS AT THE GATE is led by acclaimed vocalist Cristian Machado who is joined by guitarists and fellow ex-Il Niño members Diego Verduzco and Ahrue Luster,bassist Stephen Brewer, and drummer Fernando Lemus.
Moving on from prior projects, the band’s musical foundation quickly began to form its own identity while expanding upon familiar territory. Having quickly attracted the ear of producer Kile Odell (Fozzy, Motionless In White, Cane Hill, Shaman’s Harvest, Through Fire) the band began recording new material in the summer of 2020. They released their debut single, "Not Even Human" back in June to huge excitement from fans old and new. To date the track has clocked up 125,000 streams and nearly 100,000 Youtube views.
Expect more from LIONS AT THE GATE soon.