Damning Well

The well has run dry for you and I goes the first line of A Place to Kill s savage debut single Jet Engine, but that s hardly true of the band s two members, Richard Patrick and Jim Louvau. Both are nothing less than prolific. Patrick is of course best known for his long-running industrial-rock outfit Filter, who released their eighth studio album, The Algorithm, in 2023, but his resume also includes the supergroups Army of Anyone (with Stone Temple Pilots Dean and Robert DeLeo and future-Korn drummer Ray Luzier) and the Damning Well (with Limp Bizkit s Wes Borland), as well as a little band called Nine Inch Nails. Louvau, too, has his own main music project, the industrial-metal act There Is No Us, but he s also an award-winning photographer and videographer who s worked with everyone from Chester Bennington and Maynard James Keenan to Corey Taylor and Poppy. With so many creative outlets, neither could be blamed if their respective wells did run a little dry, but judging from A Place to Kill, their new joint project, there s still plenty left in the tank. Indeed, APTK sounds absolutely vital and incendiary on the duo s just-released debut EP, which finds Louvau taking lead vocal duties while Patrick focuses on pummeling beats, twisted bass lines and distorted textures. Lead single Jet Engine is a great showcase of their scathing yet infectious sound. The song was unleashed yesterday (June 3rd) on SiriusXM Octane, but today, it s fittingly glitched-out music video — directed by Tony Aguilar — is getting its world premiere right here right now via Revolver. Watch above. In addition to premiering the video, we also caught up with Patrick and Louvau to get the inside story on A Place to Kill. Read below and look out for a limited vinyl release of their debut EP coming soon. How did you guys meet, and how did A Place to Kill come together?RICHARD PATRICK Jim interviewed me as a journalist and then we kept bumping into each other. One time after a Filter performance in Phoenix, Jim was on our bus and screamed out some lyrics to something and I thought to myself, That guy sounds amazing. When I was working on a Filter song called Murica, I asked Jim to sing back ups on it, and he literally blew me away with his performance. When I came up with the music for a song called “The Killing Field,” I was whispering some stuff and singing, but I wanted something different so I asked Jim to try some stuff and it sounded amazing.JIM LOUVAU Richard Patrick was part of my gateway drug into industrial music as a teenager. I knew of him from his time in Nine Inch Nails from the Wish and Head Like a Hole music videos I d see on MTV. Then I saw the Hey Man Nice Shot video, and I had no idea his voice was so powerful. I loved the Short Bus record, and I saw them live and his scream made my throat hurt before I had ever screamed yet. Years later I interviewed him for the daily newspaper in Phoenix and then we just kept bumping into each other through mutual friends. Then he came to the second-ever There is No Us show in Los Angeles. We d talk every once in a while and he d bring up working together, but we weren t entirely sure what that meant or how to go about it. He invited me to do some backup vocals on Murica, and that was the first time we worked together and he tracked my vocals. It still took some more time to figure out how to get something going on what it should be because we were both in other bands and we wanted to do something that was totally different than Filter or There is No Us. He eventually sent me a couple tracks that were very electronic-driven that were also heavy. Did you guys have an initial vision for the project going in, or did it take shape as you guys worked on it?PATRICK I knew I wanted to do something that was more industrial, trap metal or EDM. Something that could be performed by one or two people. Something very abrasive but digestible at the same time. Something that was reflective of the chaotic screwed-up world.LOUVAU We knew we wanted it to be heavy, but we didn t want a standard guitar-bass-or-drums band situation since we have that in our other projects. This had to be different. What was it like working together after being friends for a while? Did you guys butt heads much?PATRICK The reason why I like this project so much is because it was easy as fuck. Jim and I get along very well, and I wouldn’t be doing it if it were a hassle. Life is too short. I want to work with people that are just talented as fuck, which makes things very easy.LOUVAU We get along very well — I don t have time for bullshit. Richard, what was it like revisiting your heavy industrial roots with this project?PATRICK I love industrial music. I love really heavy music. It was a lot of fun. Adding different kinds of distortion for every single instrument was very satisfying. How did you guys decide that Jim would take lead vocals?PATRICK It was a no-brainer ever since I heard Jim scream into a microphone. I knew I wanted to work on a project with him. He is a very powerful lead vocalist. Tell us specifically about the single Jet Engine. How did that song come together, and what s it about?PATRICK Jet Engine all started off with a sound from my Sequential Pro 3 keyboard. Once I got the baseline rocking, I added some drums and some ambient textures. As far as what it’s about, that s up to you. I would rather you come up with your interpretation of it. To us, It’s a call to arms against the newly forming oligarchy that’s suppressing Western civilization.LOUVAU The Jet Engine of Fuck You was a nickname given to me by producer Sean Beaven who mixed the last There is No Us record, thats how he describes my voice and the style of music I make. The song is very intentionally rebellious and it came together very quickly in the studio and it s as catchy as a cold. Now that the debut EP is out, what are your future plans for A Place to Kill?PATRICK More new music coming your way soon. This was just one little EP. We want to put another one out in the fall.LOUVAU We aren t wasting any time putting more new music out, it s well underway.