A stalwart of the UK metal and punk scene, Edinburgh’s Tommy Concrete has garnered a reputation as a prolific and accomplished songwriter. Having spent time in projects like The Exploited, Jackal-Headed Guard Of The Dead and Man Of The Hour, the multi-instrumentalist is now focused on his solo work, which has been likened to acts such as Killing Joke and Devin Townsend and seeks to promote recovery and positive mental attitude through music.
As ever, his latest release Unrelaxed 2, due in February 2020 via Trepanation Recordings, contains a strong message, and nowhere is this more evident than on the record’s fantastic debut single ‘Internalised Ableism’. With such a valiant message, we’re proud to be able to bring you an exclusive stream of this brilliant bout of heavy, proggy metal and the accompanying lyric video below.
Speaking of the track and the album as a whole, Tommy Concrete says: “Ableism is discrimination and social prejudice about disabled folk. ‘Internalised Ableism’ is a form of self-hatred people can inadvertently have for themselves when they succumb to the pressures of living within an ableist society, workplace, family unit or music scene.”
He continues, “I was diagnosed as autistic in 2015 and was at the time, depressed about this. I was patronised and looked down on by the majority, and for a while was down on myself. Then I discovered the neuro-diversity movement and became enlightened and empowered as I experienced an awakening. It was apparent to me that I had been suffering, not from being autistic, but from internalised ableism that had been surrounding me my entire life. I became empowered by the movement and ultimately politicised as an individual and an artist. As well as ableism, the lyrics of Unrelaxed 2 cover related subjects such as sanism, self-determination and are fuelled by rage and flaunt viewpoints akin to the radicalisation of neuro-diversity.”
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Words: George Parr
