Photo by Taylor Jones

“Carve who I am into my skin / If it’s never meant to change / Then put me out of my misery,” Max Hellesto demands in the final movements of “MORAL DEATH SENTENCE”, the final preview off Regional Justice Center’s imminent last chapter, FREEDOM SWEET FREEDOM. There’s nothing pretty about this one over its one-minute-plus slugfest, but then again, there’s nothing pretty about the modern day incarceration system either which Hellesto is all too familiar with. Guilty until proven innocent, and then forever defined by your projected actions. Now that he’s on the other side of those prison walls and reunited with his brother, the boundary-breaking hardcore spirit known as Ian Shelton, he’s setting the story straight and sharing his reformed prisoner perspective with maximum impact. “What’s the statute of limitations on a mistake?” with his final breaths. Not everything is what it seems, yet it’s a cruelty to forever be found as something that you’re not, so what’s the point of going on if you can’t fight it?

Regional Justice Center’s FREEDOM SWEET FREEDOM will be released September 20th on Closed Casket Activities.