Zabus - A Multitude of Cruelties (Official Video)

From Washington D.C., the prolific Avantgarde / psychedelic post-punk project Zabus release Whores of Holyrood: their fifth full-length album in less than two years. Led by project founder Jeremy Moore, Zabus has usually functioned as a floating collective of contributors, including former members of Moore’s previous bands Zero Swann and Gorazde, among others. Whores of Holyrood, however, is the first Zabus album performed entirely by Moore, and sees the comparatively naked influence of dark blues and traditional American folk elements coming further to the fore. Arguably, the latest offering is also one of the most overtly political statements from Zabus to date. Whores Of Holyrood explores the positive feedback loop between fascist authoritarian rule and societal inaction, apathy and resignation. Holyrood is a metaphor for the established classist hierarchy which derives its strength and influence from our subjugation. At its core, the album is a psychedelic rock / gothic blues album, drawing on diverse influences from the introspective balladry of Nick Cave, Tom Waits or Michael Gira, to the trance-inducing drones of Spacemen 3, The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth; from the icy post-punk minimalism and bleak existentialism of Joy Division, to the straight-ahead hard rock of Lucifuge-era Danzig. Meanwhile, discordant avant-garde flourishes throughout create an “audio surreality effect”—urban and societal decay is a central lyrical theme to the album and noise elements have been fused with traditional arrangements to create a new way of viewing and broadcasting a world crippled by corruption, religious perversity and devolution. Album track and video release ‘A Multitude of Cruelties’ is a poignant referendum on the apathy and indifference of a population marred by self-serving motives and mindless adherence to authoritarian and abusive control. The fusion of abrasive discordance with mournful blues Americana creates the intended tension and unease, reflective of the driving lyrical points of the song. When we resign to a fate of ideological and spiritual imprisonment, all hope for a better future is lost. Jeremy Moore elaborates: “As individuals, we have a choice—either operate outside the norm, covertly and with purpose, preserving our independence and free thought, or we succumb to government sanctioned oppression. Resistance doesn’t have to be a macro gesture and can start with an idea, a form of artistic expression, or just being awake to the horrors that are perpetrated every day. If enough people cultivate this attitude of resistance and fight to preserve their intellectual and artistic freedoms, what once was an idea eventually becomes a movement…” Whores of Holyrood by Zabus is released via D.C. label imprint and art / media collective Saccharine Underground on 12 August 2025, as a download from Bandcamp and on streaming platforms everywhere. LINKS: Find and follow Zabus on Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube Find the Saccharine Underground on Bandcamp | X | YouTube VIDEO LINKS: Link to ‘A Multitude of Cruelties’ on Zabus’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnM7vYPnsrw More Zabus videos on YouTube: Zabus – ‘Grafhysi Fyrir Alla’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO7JrYIGvqM Zabus – ‘Sacred Prostitution’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzx2WU8tN5w Zabus – ‘Subculture’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4vJQjCBY4 Zabus – ‘No Sound Like Progress’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh-9rDYeyhQ