Video Premiere: AIRBOURNE's 'Rivalry'

Australian hard rockers AIRBOURNE have released the video for new single “Rivalry” from the band’s forthcoming studio album, “Breakin’ Outta Hell”. The LP will be issued on September 23.

The “Rivalry” clip, which can be seen below, was filmed in the U.K. and Ireland by Dark Fable Media and contrasts the spectacle of the AIRBOURNE live setup with an underground tale of one-on-one conflict.

“The lyric probably came from us watching ‘Football Factory’ or ‘The Firm’, one of those kind of films,” explains frontman Joel O’Keeffe. “And I think at the time there was a big Grand Prix race on, lots of intense rivalries being reported in the media. Plus, as with other songs we’ve done, there’s an aspect here of rock ‘n’ roll taking a stand against those corporate forces that seek to restrict our freedoms, that try to shut down the little live venues, leaving bands with nowhere to really hone their craft…”

Musically, “Rivalry” represents something of a different groove for AIRBOURNE. It’s a barrel-chested stomper shot through with typical bite and power, as is the whole of “Breakin’ Outta Hell” (the album). It boasts eleven brand new numbers produced by Bob Marlette and engineered/mixed by Mike Fraser.

Speaking about the new album title, Joel said: “‘Breakin’ outta hell,’ it’s for everybody that’s having a hard time, or even if you’ve just had a hard week at work, or at university studying, trying to learn economics or stuff that you don’t know what the fuck is going on, and you’re, like, ‘I just wanna rock.’ Anyone who’s having a bit of a shit day, we’ve got a saying, it’s called, ‘World off, music on.’ So that’s what it’s about. Breakin’ outta hell, and rock and roll is your one-way ticket out.”

On the topic of AIRBOURNE‘s decision to sign with Spinefarm after parting ways with longtime label Roadrunner, the band’s Ryan O’Keeffe said: “Well, basically, Roadrunner… the option was up, so the deal was up, and Roadrunner… a lot of friends at Roadrunner had moved on. And Spinefarm has a whole new plan, basically. They’ve been around for a while, but they’re getting serious — they have a few plans, Universal is putting a lot of investment in the label, and we wanted to be a part of that. So we figured, ‘The option’s up. Let’s start fresh with a new label.’ And the thing was, they came to us and said, ‘How do you wanna make your record?’ And we said, ‘Usually we go to the States and we find a producer.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, but how do you wanna make it?’ Think outside the box.’ And we were, like, ‘We haven’t made [an album] in Australia. And we’ve always wanted to work with [producer] Bob [Marlette] since [2007’s] ‘Runnin’ Wild’, and Mike Fraser‘s the best engineer in the world. Can we have him fly to Australia and do it there?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, yeah.'”