On Friday, March 13, 2026, Red Dragon will be released digitally via Overdub Recordings!

On Friday, 13 March 2026, Red Dragon will be released digitally via Overdub Recordings as the first single from Design’s new album, Faithless. Ten years after their last studio release, the Italian band returns with a track and video that immediately sharpen their sonic identity and artistic direction, unveiling the album’s thematic core with force and without compromise.

Red Dragon unfolds as an apocalyptic vision, blending biblical symbolism with contemporary devastation to portray humanity’s moral decline. Through stark images – burning plastic, towers of fire, lakes of tears – it depicts a world where innocence is sacrificed, and violence is systemic. The maternal figure in the lyrics suggests fragility and disorientation, while the refrain “we reap what we sow” captures the song’s ethical core: we are accountable for our actions. The Red Dragon emerges not merely as a mythical beast, but as the embodiment of a darkness born within humankind itself, in a prophecy without easy redemption.

Musically, the track channels the band’s most abrasive side, rooted in alternative rock and infused with post-punk and darkwave textures. Razor-edged guitars built on taut, repetitive riffs lock into a driving, near-martial rhythm section, while a deep, pulsating bass line binds rock energy to electronic undercurrents. The production remains purposeful, favouring clarity, dynamics and emotional pressure over excess layering. Traces of Primal Scream’s more radical and politically charged era – particularly XTRMNTR and Evil Heat – resonate here, reimagined through a contemporary lens and filtered through Design’s distinct sonic voice. In Red Dragon, sound does not merely frame the message – it embodies it.

The single’s visual language centres on marble, a key element throughout Faithless. Quarried and scarred, it becomes a metaphor for a violated natural world reduced to a resource. Fragmented blocks stand isolated within a stark, dehumanised space, veined with glowing red lines that resemble artificial wounds. With no human figures present, the imagery resists literal interpretation: the dragon never appears outright, but is suggested as a latent threat embedded within the material itself.

Filmed at the Loop Live Club in Osimo, Italy, and directed by Giorgio Mascio, the video returns Design to their most authentic setting: the stage. The performance is taut and stripped back, driven by the interplay between band, space and live visuals refined in post-production – sharp editing shifts between wide stage shots and more immersive movements, echoing the track’s momentum. Bathed in red light against black, symbolic images – falling bombs, fractured maps and a gradually emerging digital dragon – heighten the tension until sound and vision collapse together.

Design state: “Red Dragon is an apocalyptic vision of humanity corrupted by greed and violence. Through biblical imagery and contemporary devastation, the song portrays a world forced to reap what it has sown, as innocence is sacrificed.”

CREDITS

Daniele Strappato | Vocals and programming
Sara Tringali | Bass
Nicola Cerasa | Guitars and keyboards
Roberto Cardinali | Drums and programming

Music | Design - Lyrics | Daniele Strappato

Production, vocal recording and mix | Enrico Tiberi @ Bellezebù Studio, Berlin (Germany)
Instrument recording | Enrico Tiberi @ Dyne Engine Studio, Castelfidardo (Italy)
Mastering | Pete Maher @ London (United Kingdom)
Video direction | Giorgio Mascio
Camera operator and visual consultant | Erik Brito Gil
Artwork and layout | Sara Tringali and Daniele Strappato
Promotional photos | David Fazzini and Lorenzo Francella

Formed in Italy in 2008, Design comprises Daniele Strappato (vocals and programming), Sara Tringali (bass), Nicola Cerasa (guitars and keyboards), and Roberto Cardinali (drums and programming). The band’s name reflects their intent to reinterpret and reshape what already exists — a creative impulse that has informed both their songwriting and sonic identity from the outset. Following the EP/demo 4 Little Hanged Toys (Copro Records/Casket Music), they released their debut album Technicolor Noise (Zeta Factory) in 2012, blending alternative rock, electronics and industrial influences. In 2015, Daytime Sleepwalkers (This Is Core) marked a darker evolution, weaving new wave elements more consciously into their sound. The following year brought DSRMX, a remix collection that further expanded the project’s electronic dimension. After a hiatus prompted by personal circumstances, the band returns in 2026 with Faithless on Overdub Recordings: an intense and politically charged record that signals a new chapter.

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