Canadian alt-metal / hard rock crossover stars, Sumo Cyco, will release their upcoming full-length album, Initiation, on May 7 via Napalm Records.

The have dropped their most addictive anthem yet - the Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, In This Moment, Papa Roach) produced hit-in-the-making, "Vertigo". It's clear within moments that "Vertigo" is an electrifying standout, connecting like a sucker punch as soon as its electro-laced intro breaks into the first verse, and standing tall with its airtight, heavy pop-influenced sensibility.

Skye “Sever” Sweetnam says about “Vertigo”, its accompanying video, and working with Kane Churko: "'Vertigo' was written pre-pandemic, but it’s crazy how we have been living through some of the most disorienting times in our lives. 'Vertigo' is all about trying to hold onto your sanity and self against any outside force. Having Kane Churko produce and co-write with us on this track was a great experience. We typically do everything at our home studio, so hanging in Vegas at the amazing Hideout Recording studio put us in a fresh new mindset to create. The music video contains one of the most elaborate sets we’ve worked on. I guess collecting so much junk over the years has paid off! Come choose your poison and start the INITIATION!"

Watch the new music video for “Vertigo”:

Initiation invites a mass of new followers into their warped, dystopian-like world of “Cyco City”! As with its predecessors Lost In Cyco City (2014), Opus Mar (2017) and countless singles, Initiation is based in the imaginative conceptual location of “Cyco City.” But unlike most concept albums, the lyrical content is inspired by the band’s real-time environment – featuring timely, personal themes of love, sacrifice, anxiety, empowerment and more that all listeners can relate to.

Sweetnam adds about the album: "The album’s title, Initiation, stems from wanting to invite the audience to be 'initiated' into our world. There are usually two congruent themes to each of our albums – one is real-world inspiration, and the other is 'Cyco City', a comic book-esque alternate universe where all our music videos take place. With Initiation, we introduce four gangs or clubs. Our music videos for Initiation all include a theme of these clubs – whether it’s gang vs. gang, a forbidden love between opposing sides, or the idea of having to choose where you belong."

"Outside of the story, the lyrics relate to the polarization of the world we live in now. We all have a longing to belong, but what makes one feel accepted or ostracized from a group? To be INITIATED, would you be willing to try to understand another point of view? I have always written lyrics about internal struggle, the war within oneself. Throughout the album, we bounce back and forth between struggle and overcoming. It reflects the times, and there are moments that seem a bit dark."

At the album’s start, Sumo Cyco lights a spark with the seductively hooked track “Love You Wrong”, connecting like a punch and setting the stage for the vigor to come. The blitz continues with standouts like lethal room-mover “Bystander” and electronic-infused, in-your-face rock anthem “Vertigo” – the latter standing tall with its airtight, gritty pop sensibility and featuring the production mastery of Juno Award-winning producer Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, In This Moment, Papa Roach). Swiftly followed by erratic, addictive nod-to-the-times “Bad News” and heavy, creeping success “No Surrender”, Initiation proves not even halfway through that the band’s songwriting ability and the commanding performance prowess frontwoman Skye “Sever” Sweetnam, guitarist Matt “MD13” Drake, bassist Oscar Anesetti and drummer Matt "Trozzi" blend a recipe for greatness. The album continues winding through a mastery of heavy-meets-pop execution before ending with the full-throttle, sugar n’ salt packed album closer “This Dance Is Doomed” (while various editions cap off with sultry, confident “Awakened”).

By the end of Initiation, listeners will wonder just what exactly Sumo Cyco can’t do, proving them as a band on the rise, and that unconventionality always stands out from the pack.

Initiation will be available in North America in the following formats:

- Digital Album
- CD Digipak
- LP Gatefold Orange Vinyl
- Die Hard Limited Edition: LP Gatefold Purple/Yellow/Pink Inkspot Vinyl + 7” Orange Transparent Vinyl Single w/ Two Bonus Tracks + Signed Photo (Napalm Mailorder only – limited to 300 worldwide)

Initiation tracklisting:*

"Love You Wrong"
"Bystander"
"Vertigo"
"Bad News"
"No Surrender"
"M.I.A."
"Cyclone"
"Run With The Giants"
"Overdrive"
"Power & Control"
"This Dance Is Doomed"
"Awakened" (not available on standard digital version)

*Various new tracks, such as “New Jive” and “We Are The Nation” are available in different groupings on various formats of Initiation (i.e. Die Hard Limited Edition).

"No Surrender" video:

"Bystander" video:

(Photo - Francesca Ludikar)