Switzerland's titans of brutality, Paleface Swiss, are back with a vengeance! Today, the band unveils their brutal new single, "HATRED", alongside the official announcement of their highly anticipated third full-length album, ‘Cursed’, set to drop January 3rd, 2025. Fans can experience the full, savage force of the new single and its accompanying music video by streaming the track HERE and watching the music video below. Pre-order your copy of 'Cursed' HERE.
"HATRED", the album's ferocious lead single, delivers everything fans have come to love from Paleface Swiss: relentlessly visceral intensity, Zelli’s instantly recognizable, rapid fire rap-style vocals, Yannick Lehmann's insane thrash-inspired solos and ten-ton heavy nu-metal-esque riffs and the pummeling rhythmic backbone of Tommy Lee's basslines and Cassiano "Cassi'" Toma's drumming, providing lightening fast blast beats and brutal beatdowns. Speaking on the track, Marc "Zelli" Zellweger shares
“When you’re a kid growing up, you're happy and you think everything is cool, but nowadays, every time you open your phone, it’s just a flood of negativity. We’re bombarded with so much bad news every day that finding anything positive feels nearly impossible. ‘Hatred’ is us venting our frustration about the things we can’t change. It may not be as deep as the other tracks on the album, but it’s for everyone who’s fed up with the constant negativity in the world. For the music video, we wanted to keep it simple and raw—a no-nonsense, old-school performance video with us going as hard as we can in a room. There are, however, a few easter eggs hidden in there that will make more sense as we release more videos from this album.”
"Hatred" also begins with album intro track, "Un Pobre Niño Murió", a reimagining of a song the band heard for the first time when they decamped to Tenerife, where their close friend and tour manager, Ron Steven Deris, lives, to write their new record. Elaborating on the story, "Zelli" continues
“We went to Ron’s place in Tenerife, and every morning and every evening we had breakfast and dinner together. We always listened to vinyl while eating, and one evening he pulled out a Canary Islands folklore vinyl with very old songs—like all of the artists on these songs had been dead for many years—and this song came on with just one woman singing by herself. It’s supposed to be a children’s lullaby, but it was actually scary. The lyrics are the complete opposite of a lullaby.”
‘Cursed’ is a masterclass in modern brutality and encapsulates two years of creative exploration and raw personal experiences for the Paleface Swiss members. The band retreated to the seclusion of the Canary Islands to craft this sonic juggernaut. Collaborating with Ron Steven Deris at Misueno Studios and with long-time collaborator Florent Salfati (Landmvrks) helping to add the finishing touches, their work culminated in an album that marries the band’s signature heaviness with intricate conceptual storytelling. Zelli goes on to share:
"This time we wanted to keep it simple and follow the lead of the big guys, taking the necessary time for it. However, it was still an exhausting process. I’m overjoyed with the result and can’t wait to unleash our first concept album upon the world."
The album features nine tracks, each paired with a specific flower on the album artwork that represents a different struggle, forming a bouquet of beauty and darkness that mirrors the band's tumultuous experiences. Zelli elaborates:
“This record is for sure our most personal one so far. We've always written about topics like mental health, but we’ve usually written about people who are really close to us. On this record there wasn’t really much space for stories from other people. Between the time when we released "Fear & Dagger "and writing this record, there were periods when this is how we all felt. I’d say 80% of these two years were filled with so much happiness and joy, which I’m really thankful for, but the few dark days that we had ARE this record.”
To celebrate the release of ‘Cursed’ at the top of 2025, Paleface Swiss is gearing up to take their monstrous sound across North America with their biggest US Headline Tour to date. The tour kicks off on March 20th, 2025, in Detroit, MI, and will cover 30 cities, including Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. Fans can expect blistering performances packed with the band's signature groove-laden riffs, unrelenting energy, and Zelli's insane vocal acrobatics. Full tour dates and tickets are available HERE. Speaking on the upcoming tour, Zelli enthuses
"We can’t wait to return for a bigger US headlining tour... I would love to be sitting on the tour bus tomorrow. But like the cheese Switzerland is famous for, this also has to mature well first"
PALEFACE SWISS
NORTH AMERICA 2025 HEADLINE TOUR
3/20 Detroit, MI, St. Andrews Hall
3/21 Toronto, ON, Lees Palace
3/22 Montreal, QC, Club Soda
3/23 Worcester, MA Palladium (Upstairs)
3/26 Albany, NY, Empire Live
3/27 Baltimore, MD, Soundstage
3/28 Pittsburgh, PA , Roxian Theatre
3/29 Greensboro, NC, Hangar 1819
3/30 Tampa, FL, Orpheum
04/01 Orlando, FL, The Abbey
04/02 Atlanta, GA, Masquerade (Hell)
04/03 Nashville, TN, Eastside Bowl
04/04 Louisville, KY, Mercury Ballroom
04/05 St. Louis, MO, Red Flag
04/06 Wichita, KS, Wave (Indoors)
04/08 San Antonio, TX, Vibes Underground
04/09 Dallas, TX, Southside Music Hall
4/10 Albuquerque, NM, Sunshine Theater
4/11 Mesa, AZ, Nile
4/12 Los Angeles, CA, The Regent
4/13 Roseville, CA, Goldfields
4/15 Portland, OR, Dante's
4/16 Vancouver, BC, Rickshaw Theatre
4/17 Seattle, WA, El Corazon
4/18 Spokane, WA, The Knitting Factory
4/19 Salt Lake City, UT, Metro Music Hall
4/20 Denver, CO, Summit
4/22 Omaha, NE, The Waiting Room
4/23 Iowa City, IA, Wildwood
4/24 Minneapolis, MN, Varsity Theater
4/25 Milwaukee, WI, The Rave II
4/26 Chicago, IL, Thalia Hall
Armed with a brand new album, an ever-growing army of devoted fans, critical acclaim, sold-out headline shows and stellar festival performances garnering new fans wherever they go, Paleface Swiss have their sights firmly set total, global domination. Stay tuned, buckle up and kick back for the ride.
ABOUT PALEFACE SWISS
Since the release of their first album, 'Chapter 3: The Last Selection', independent outfit, PALEFACE SWISS have gained international recognition throughout the Deathcore and Beatdown Community. Known for their huge, aggressive riffs, brutally bombastic rhythm section, frontman, Zelli's outstanding vocals and a pinch of humor. This is Switzerland’s finest heavy music. Across their catalog, the band have gained 110 million streams, 21 million YouTube views on their own channel, and recently peaked at 1 million Spotify monthly listeners.
‘Chapter 3: The Last Selection’ was released on October 30th 2020, spawning four huge tracks “Curse Us”, “The Rats”, "Lights Out" and “Skalpell” which quickly ranked high in the beatdown/hardcore charts and saw the band become cover stars on Spotify’s Heavy Beatdown playlist.
In 2022 the band released their second full-length album 'Fear & Dagger'. The album was widely considered a huge step up for the band as plaudits began to roll in for frontman Zelli's vocal ability and the band's unflinching commitment to never shy away from brutally heavy riffs, face-melting technically insane guitar solos, punishing beatdowns or from facing difficult, emotional topics head on. Metal Injectionaccurately summed it up in their review by saying, "It's fun to get caught up in Paleface's unrelenting instrumentals, but Zelli's really the star of Paleface. This is largely because he treats his screams like rap bars." New Transcendence stating "Paleface have created one of the most emotionally relevant and intriguing beatdown releases to date" and Wall of Sound calling it "an unashamedly brutal and angry album".
The album shot the band into the upper echelons of the "New Wave Of Deathcore" and spawned singles "The Orphan", "Deathtouch", "Dead Man's Diary" feat. LANDMVRKS frontman Florent Salfati and fan favourite and stylistic curveball, "My Grave / Lay with Me". The album focused on more mature and critical topics related to the fears and struggles young people have to contend with in the 21st century, most importantly, the topic of mental health.
The ensuing 2 years saw the band's popularity sky-rocket. Honing their craft in the live arena, the band rapidly jumped from strength to strength, creating what is now one of the most thrilling and impactful live shows in modern metal. Their ability to win over any crowd, wether it be their own headline shows, touring the US with the likes of Body Snatcher or The Ghost Inside, touring the UK with the likes of Counterparts and Kublai Khan or at globally renowned festivals such as Sick New World, Hellfest Open Air, Summer Breeze, Cabaret Vert, Dynamo Metal Festival and more, one thing is for sure, Paleface Swiss will turn an audience into fans by the time they're done at every show they play.
To support their largely sold-out touring efforts, the band released a series of stand alone singles, "Best: Before Death" - now a staple and firm fan favourite in their live set list, "Please End Me" and "The Gallow".
Now, with the impending release of their third full-length album, 'Cursed', Paleface Swiss are set to write the next chapter or their incredible, epic journey as they reveal their most thematically and sonically ambitious album to date. Never pulling punches when it comes to heaviness, technicality or emotional vulnerability, Paleface Swiss are rewriting the rulebook on what it means to be an extreme metal band.
PALEFACE SWISS Are:
Vox: Marc “Zelli” Zellweger
Guitar: Yannick Lehmann
Bass: Tommy-Lee Abt
Drums: Cassiano 'Cassi' Toma
Find Paleface Online