Singled Out: Dust Biters' Progeny

Keavin Wiggins | 02-22-2023

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Dust Biters recently released a music video for their single "Progeny", from their debut album, "Guilt". To celebrate we asked Nick Miller to tell us about the song and video. Here is the story:

Progeny (noun): 1. The organism or organisms resulting from sexual or asexual reproduction. 2. A child or children of a parent or parents. 3. A person's descendants considered as a group.

"Progeny" was the last song Dust Biters wrote before we entered the studio to record our debut full-length album, 'Guilt' and it served as the album's lead single. Throughout the entire two-year process of writing 'Guilt', Dust Biters' lead singer and guitarist Nick Kinsley was weathering a divorce and custody battle. Much of the album's lyrics reflect this tumultuous time as Kinsley used the music to confront his addiction issues, narcissistic behaviors, relationship challenges, and concern over being a good father to his children. Once the listener has this perspective, the name and flow of the record starts to coalesce.

"Progeny" is a song written from the perspective of Kinsley talking to his kids when they are older, a raw and honest confession to his children in an attempt to express that they are the reason he is alive and the motivation to better himself. Kinsley addresses each of his kids throughout the song. The line "you were my first gift" is directed to his oldest. Religion has been a point of contention in parenting styles and Kinsley is expressing that raising his children to have morals and ethics does not mean he has to teach them to follow god or seek out religion. His second child, his daughter, is the "apple of his ungodly eyes." In the bridge, he begs for forgiveness from his third child who was born under complicated circumstances. The line "I hope you still love me" is the final plea after a heavy confession. Despite the darkness, positivity is the refrain of the chorus when Kinsley sings about his children being his guiding light and ultimate source of purpose.

The plot of the music video for "Progeny" tells the story of an indifferent and bored cult leader no longer interested in the harem of women who worship him as they can no longer satisfy his ego. Restless and feeling trapped with his commitment to his progeny, he devises and executes a plan to escape his monotony. When we, as a band, started discussing this concept, we wanted to explore the subject of narcissism poignantly. What's more narcissistic than a cult leader who gained everything he's ever wanted just to throw away a harem of female worshippers simply because he's bored of it? At the end of the video, the cult leader reasons to just kill off his followers through the guise of a final ritual in which everyone would ascend to a new plane of existence, but in reality, the cult leader poisons his followers, not drinking the poison himself, and walks away to start a new life. In true narcissistic nature, the cult leader found it easier to just murder his followers instead of confessing his intentions and taking responsibility for tricking them into worshiping his ego. When the band is featured, there are two different performances: daytime, which represents the psychedelic rituals that the cult would regularly partake in, and evening, which takes place after all the cult members have died. The band is only there to provide the soundtrack for the macabre scene that is playing out before them. The band has no moral investment and is only there to play the sinking ship into the water.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here