Photo by Vanessa Valadez
Chicago progressive instrumental metal trio Coyote Manshowcase a broad musical palette on their upcoming second full-length,Prosthetic Memories, but on new single, “Zealotry,” they abandon subtlety for sheer force. This is a four-minute-plus roiling bulldozer of a track that uses melody sparingly and mostly just rides a couple of relentless circular riffs. These dudes—Augie Portugal (guitar/keys), Ian Wheeler (drums/percussion), and Rene Rodriguez (bass)—have been playing together for decades (only since 2015 in Coyote Man, though), so despite the lack of vocals here, their obvious chemistry delivers a well-constructed song filled with angsty tension. Who needs vocals to convey emotion?
Prosthetic Memories was recorded in the summer of 2025 at Iron Hand Audio in Chicago. Mixing and mastering was done by Dan Klein. It’s set for release on CD, LP, and digitally on August 14. Place your preorder here.
The band described the intention behind the new single like this:
“‘Zealotry’ reflects the increasingly polarized world we inhabit, where conviction can harden into fanaticism and individuals become consumed by an endless stream of amplified opinions. Through its powerful instrumentation and dark atmosphere, the track captures the tension, division, and emotional weight of modern discourse.”
