UK metalcore outfit Employed To Serve have released a new single, Dead Reckoning which is out today via Church Road Records. The band are releasing the single ahead of their Summer festival dates and shows with In Flames, Unearth and Of Mice and Men
2025 was a mammoth year for the band; a spring headline tour and a stacked summer festival season was followed by a huge European run with metalcore legends, Killswitch Engage. During this busy schedule, the band found themselves deeply inspired to start work on their next release.
‘Dead Reckoning’ is the first song Employed To Serve presents to lead the charge into their next chapter. Speaking of the song’s construction, guitarist/vocalist Sammy Urwin states that “when the track was being written, it was one of those situations where it exploded into existence, rather than having been carefully crafted”. On providing perspective for the lyrics, lead vocalist Justine Jones comments on the band’s headspace, claiming that “Dead Reckoning definitely taps more into our darker side and serves as a conduit to blow off steam. We hope the listeners get the same release from the track that we do.”
Employed To Serve have always stood as bastions of positivity within the metal scene, but here they acknowledge standing face to face with the harder aspects of life and tackling them head on. ‘Dead Reckoning’ is an ode to those finding their own way and using their gut instinct as their only source of guidance. Jones hammers this sentiment home by screaming “against all odds, I find my way”.
This new single comes via Jones and Urwin’s own record label Church Road Records, which has been a pillar in the UK metal/alternative scene for almost a decade now. The couple’s love for music runs far deeper than just the confines of Employed To Serve and they’ve managed to cultivate a strong eco system of artists housed under the Church Road banner. After many successful release campaigns and many years spent in the business, the time felt right for Employed To Serve to be part of this ever growing roster, giving the band complete control of their creative output.
The band recorded with longstanding collaborator Lewis Johns who produced and mastered the track.
Upcoming tour dates
Tickets: https://www.employedtoserve.com/tour/
22.07 Switzerland, Neuchatel @ Case á Chocs
23.07 Italy, Bologna @ Bonsai Garden *
24.07 Slovenia, Tolmin @ Tolminator
25.07 Hungary, Budapest @ Barba Negra *
26.07 Turkey, Istanbul @ Uniq Open Air *
28.07 Romania, Ghimbav @ Rockstadt Extreme Fest
31.07 Germany, Wacken @ Wacken Open Air
01.08 Germany, Loebnitz @ Full Rewind Festival
02.08 England, Manchester @ Radar Festival
04.08 France, Seignosse @ Tube *
05.08 Spain, Villava @ Sala TOTEM *
07.08 Spain, Villena @ Leyendas del Rock
08.08 Spain, Sevilla @ Sala Custom *
09.08 Portugal, Vagos @ Vagos Metalfest
11.08 France, Marseille @ Molotov ^
13.08 Belgium, Seraing/Liege @ OM *
14.08 Germany, Frankfurt am Main @ Zoom Frankfurt /
15.08 Netherlands, Eindhoven @ Dynamo Metalfest
29.08 Switzerland, Oberkirch @ Wyssrüti Festival
/ w/ Of Mice and Men