EARLY MAN returns next month with Beware The Circling Fin, their first release since 2005’s acclaimed Closing In. Beware The Circling Fin, the band’s first release for The End Records, was mixed with the help of legendary producer Jack Endino and will be available October 14th.
The EP’s title track was inspired by Paul Watson and his organization, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Sea Shepherd activists endorse a deliberate policy of sinking or sabotaging vessels they believe have violated international whaling laws. Sea Shepherd members are known to call themselves “eco-pirates.” EARLY MAN frontman Mike Conte explains his fascination with Watson and Sea Shepherd:
“It was brought to my attention [that] Paul Watson was regularly engaged in campaigns, often in the deep sea, where he was taking direct action against illegal whaling/shark finning/seal clubbing, etc. What stood out to me was that he was sometimes going as far as ramming illegal whaling/fishing vessels, occasionally even sinking them.
“This isn’t some passive hippy fuck with a ‘save the whales’ bumper sticker on his Volkswagen or some naïve college kid with a clipboard trying to sign people up for a pointless march or walkathon or some bullshit. This guy was like ‘I’m going to raise money to buy a boat and then go out into the ocean and try to stop this insanity WHILE it’s happening’. That is some ballsy shit! And something that no one else is doing. I immediately respected that and wanted to support it in any way I could.”
The EP’s title track, “Beware The Circling Fin,” was inspired by the act of “shark finning.” Conte explains:
“I am particularly disturbed by shark finning. If you’ve never seen the process, it’s absolutely horrifying. Sharks are amazing, extremely unique creatures that command a certain amount of respect. Most people are scared of them because we are well aware of their awesome power. But when you see a deep sea fishing boat engaged in something called “longlining” or to put it more bluntly, reeling in hundreds of sharks, slicing their fins off on deck while they are completely conscious of the what is happening to them and then tossing their mutilated torsos back into the ocean where they sink to the bottom, you can easily lose all faith in humanity.
“’Beware The Circling Fin’ is about a shark finning boat that is rammed and begins to sink in waters heavily infested by sharks. The crew finds themselves in the precarious position of being surrounded by thousands of the same beasts that they were just moments ago murdering by the hundreds. As they rapidly sink into the ocean the crew is eaten alive. Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?”