Photo by Nolan Knight

Ian Shelton has turned Militarie Gun into one of the modern hardcore scene’s biggest names that isn’t Turnstile since their breakthrough 2023 debut, Life Under The Gun. With praise, popularity, and burning the candle at both ends with endless touring to get there, album titles can have a way of becoming prophetic. You you can easily lose yourself on the way up. For Shelton, that would be when some liquid courage becomes your crutch. To the average non-sober person, it may not seem like the biggest deal after a hard work week to partake in an adult beverage or two, but for someone who has lived a lifetime on the straight edge to spite the poison habits of others he grew up around, it became a “B A D I D E A” quickly.

The lead single from the Los Angeles band’s sophomore follow-up, God Save The Gun, isn’t running away from the problem. Shelton is openly wielding his vices as an album marketing ploy with purpose. If anything, letting the world in on his struggles is forcing the Los Angeles crew to level up their game to compensate for the fuck-ups, and though the listen finds Shelton — crashed out, all baggy-eyed and face puffed up — coming to grips with himself, there’s a celebration to be had for at least acknowledging where the problem begins and ends. Enter the Gun in their clearest pop-minded state yet to combat the demons, complete with calling them out loud in cheerleader form over a synth-punk-meets-post-hardcore anthem. “Bad idea man, you been heading the wrong way,” Shelton shouts at himself — though it’s clear that he and the band are moving toward the right direction from here on out.

Directed by: Ian Shelton

Militarie Gun’s God Save The Gun will be released October 17th on Loma Vista Recordings.