Junction 28 are not just releasing a single, they’re launching an artistic war cry from the edge of the sea, armed with thunderous riffs, ghost-haunted visuals, and the kind of emotional force that leaves your soul ringing. “Last Embrace”, out now, is a daring leap forward for the Essex-based modern metal band, a genre-bending triumph that blurs the lines between chaos and clarity, grief and unity, destruction and hope.
From the first beat, “Last Embrace” doesn’t ask for your attention, it grabs it. A full-frontal sonic assault of layered electronics, sweeping synths, and the crunch of drop-tuned guitars, the track surges with drum and bass urgency while never losing its emotional center. Synth player Kit Sylvester’s refusal to use laptops or automation gives the sound a refreshingly raw, human pulse, a livewire intensity that crackles throughout.
Originally born from a 60-second demo in 2023, “Last Embrace” took shape in early 2024 through a deeply collaborative writing process. Vocalist Craig Keeling brings lyrical poignancy and edge, while new drummer Tico Richie, fresh from the worlds of grunge and classic rock, injects the groove with unpredictable grit. Bassist Dick Phantom and guitarist Gary Digby round out the lineup with snarling precision. Each band member brings something distinctly personal to the track, and it shows.
The lyrics hit as hard as the music. Rewritten multiple times and refined until the very last recording session, “Last Embrace” wrestles with global collapse and personal loss, but never without a thread of hope. “We’ve always tried to stay optimistic,” Craig says. “The world can feel like it’s ending, but we want to talk about holding your people close and finding your family, however that looks, when everything else falls apart.” It’s a line that echoes long after the final chorus fades.
But the single’s vision doesn’t stop with sound. The accompanying music video, directed by Loki Films and shot at Grain Battery Tower, an eerie, tide-locked World War-era sea fort off the Kent coast, is a cinematic masterpiece of grime, ghostliness, and grit. Picture this: the band trekking through freezing mudflats, lugging gear through crumbling concrete, filming on the edge of the sea like post-apocalyptic warriors with guitars. It’s the kind of shoot that legends are made of equal parts madness and magic.
“When Tico climbed all the way to the top floor and said, ‘I’m getting my drum kit up here,’ we knew there was no turning back,” Kit laughs. That reckless commitment? It bleeds into every frame of the video and every bar of the track.
Formed in 2018 and named after the motorway junction that once separated them, Junction 28 have spent years evolving from raw alt-rock hopefuls to a genre-defying force in the UK metal scene. “Last Embrace” marks a massive creative leap, and it’s just the beginning.
In a world where the noise never stops, “Last Embrace” is more than music. It’s a signal flare. A cathartic scream from the ruins. And a reminder that even in the darkest of forts, literally and metaphorically, you can still find connection, courage, and yes, a whole new level of coolness!
