Villainy return this July with their highly anticipated third album Raised In The Dark.

The follow up to 2015's Dead Sight sees the band once again working with long-term collaborator Tom Larkin (Shihad) as well as legendary LA stalwart Mark Needham (The Killers, Imagine Dragons, The 1975). The result is a shift into a new sonic and musical direction for the two-time NZ Music Award winners.

From the confrontational leer of the title track, to the proto-candy death-punk of ‘IFXS’, and the dystopian anthem ‘Dreams’, this record represents the extremes of the bands collective imagination. Energetic and innovative riff-work, outlandish guitar solos, a slamming rhythm section and crushing lyrical truths shows a band at the peak of their powers.

Vocalist Neill Fraser says of the album “We went all in on this record and over 12 months wrote dozens, if not hundreds of songs. Beneath all the loud guitars, smashing drums and screaming vocals there is a real honesty and vulnerability to this album which we're really proud of.”

Since arriving in 2011 with game-changing single ‘Alligator Skin’, Villainy have been redefining what's possible with rock in New Zealand. Both albums Mode. Set. Clear. and Dead Sight have debuted at #1 and won NZ Music Awards for Best Rock Album. Villainy have appeared at countless festivals as well as being hand-picked to open for AC/DC during their New Zealand stadium tour.