St. Louis prog metal band The Gorge will unveil their third studio album this summer.

Mechanical Fiction will be released via Pelagic Records on July 28. Guitarist/vocalist Phil Ring said this about the album’s title:

“Mechanical Fiction refers to the mundane ways in which we proceed through our lives. Living out routines because that is what we are supposed to do, we constantly go through the motions, telling ourselves that everything is okay.”

To celebrate the announcement, The Gorge unveiled a new single titled “Beneath The Crust,” which is available on streaming services right now. A live session of the track can be seen below. The band said this about the new song:

“[This is] the first single, but the oldest song on Mechanical Fiction. The extended double picking middle section is an endurance challenge, with Jerry Mazzuca’s drum part building different dynamics and feel changes in contrast to the static riff. The song thematically draws upon climate policy inaction and tipping points tied to methane buried under ice on the seafloor.”

Mechanical Fiction can be pre-ordered here.

Mechanical Fiction tracklisting:

1. Synapse Misfire

2. Remnants Of Grief

3. Presence

4. Beneath The Crust

5. A Decision Was Made

6. Earthly Decay

7. Mechanical Fiction

8. Wraith