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During their time on the road, the band did not slow down their creative flow. On the bus and in dressing rooms the band hashed out new ideas, riffs, and lyrics that quickly amounted to more than a few completed songs. The band booked some studio time in between festivals with producer Mike Watts in Long Island, NY and got to work while recording one more song with longtime collaborator Aaron Hellam in Oakland upon their return home.

Black Map released those songs on an EP called Trace The Path in February as a standalone release just as their support tour with label-mates Pop Evil kicked off.

Singer Ben Flanagan says “It was a beautiful challenge to put only four songs out at once in EP form and have them not only stand on their own but also work together and really say something and be powerful and meaningful.”

As they continue forward, ever united in that original pureness of intentionality, Black Map covers bigger ground. Bursts of ambience and mellow contemplation compliment the broadly shaped melodic noise. Unafraid experimentation gives way to a strong dichotomy, to new elements, all within that original structure of Black Map’s monster riffing.