A PLACE TO KILL — the industrial project featuring FILTER mastermind Richard Patrick and THERE IS NO US vocalist Jim Louvau — are wasting absolutely no time. Just months after releasing their debut EP, the duo have announced their second offering, APTK2, promising an even heavier, nastier and more cinematic blast of post-apocalyptic industrial aggression.
Apparently one EP simply wasn’t enough.
A PLACE TO KILL released their seven-track debut APTK in June 2026, establishing a sound built from distorted electronics, crushing rhythms, trap-influenced beats and two voices that sound like they’ve collectively had enough of absolutely everything.
Now they’re already coming back for round two.
APTK2 will arrive on 13 November 2026 through Richard Patrick’s No Pulse Records, with the six-song release continuing the strange and increasingly vicious musical world Patrick and Louvau have created together.
And judging by Richard?
They’ve turned the violence knob even further clockwise.
💀 ‘Even Heavier And Crazier’
Patrick isn’t exactly underselling the follow-up.
Speaking about APTK2, the FILTER frontman said:
“Super proud of this new EP. It’s even heavier and crazier than the first one.”
He also describes the record as another soundtrack for the post-apocalypse.
Which feels appropriate.
A PLACE TO KILL have never sounded like they’re particularly interested in recording pleasant background music for Sunday lunch.
This is music designed for abandoned cities, flickering fluorescent lights and somebody discovering that civilisation made one final terrible decision.
Lovely stuff.
🔥 First Single ‘Keep My Name Out Of Your Mouth’ Arrives 25 September
Fans won’t have to wait until November to hear what the duo have been creating.
The first single from APTK2, “Keep My Name Out Of Your Mouth,” arrives on 25 September 2026, accompanied by a new music video.
Even the title sounds like somebody is about to have a very bad afternoon.
The track pushes A PLACE TO KILL’s mixture of industrial metal and electronic hostility further, combining punishing rhythms, distorted production and the contrasting vocal presence of Louvau and Patrick.
Confrontation appears to be the entire point.
No ambiguity.
No polite disagreement.
No passive-aggressive email ending in “kind regards.”
Straight to the throat.
🎤 Jim Louvau Says The New Material Is More Focused And Ferocious
Louvau describes APTK2 as more focused and aggressive than its predecessor.
The pair were encouraged by the response to the first EP and quickly returned to the studio rather than allowing the project to become a one-off experiment.
That’s significant.
Side projects can easily produce one release, disappear into everybody’s schedule and quietly become something mentioned in interviews ten years later.
A PLACE TO KILL clearly isn’t heading in that direction.
The second EP is arriving barely five months after the first.
That’s not a side project collecting dust.
That’s a functioning band.
⚙️ Richard Patrick Has Found Another Industrial Playground
For anyone familiar with Patrick’s career, the industrial foundations make perfect sense.
Before founding FILTER, Patrick spent part of his early career with NINE INCH NAILS, performing during the era surrounding Pretty Hate Machine.
He subsequently built FILTER into one of alternative and industrial rock’s defining acts of the 1990s, producing songs including:
Hey Man Nice Shot.
Take A Picture.
Welcome To The Fold.
The Best Things.
But A PLACE TO KILL isn’t simply FILTER with harsher vocals.
Patrick appears determined to push considerably further into modern electronic heaviness.
🔊 Industrial Metal Meets Trap And ‘Deathstep’
Patrick has previously described the project’s sound in terms of industrial trap metal and even “deathstep.”
And honestly?
That description makes considerably more sense once you hear it.
Electronic bass.
Harsh digital textures.
Industrial percussion.
Metal aggression.
Screamed vocals.
Electronic production techniques that feel more connected to contemporary heavy electronic music than traditional guitar-driven industrial rock.
This isn’t about recreating 1995.
That’s one of the project’s most interesting qualities.
🚫 Nostalgia Isn’t The Goal
Patrick could easily build an entire project around the sound people already associate with him.
Crunchy guitars.
Industrial drums.
Big melodic chorus.
Job done.
Plenty of fans would happily listen.
But A PLACE TO KILL seems deliberately uninterested in becoming an exercise in nostalgia.
The duo are taking ingredients from industrial music and pushing them through more contemporary production.
Trap rhythms.
Electronic distortion.
Extreme dynamics.
A harsher vocal approach.
The result feels more like asking:
“What should industrial aggression sound like now?”
rather than:
“How do we remake the records we loved thirty years ago?”
That is considerably more exciting.
🩸 Jim Louvau Brings A Different Kind Of Violence
Louvau might be familiar to some listeners through THERE IS NO US, but his career stretches beyond simply standing behind a microphone.
He’s also an established photographer and music-video director.
That visual background makes him particularly well suited to a project that treats imagery as part of the overall experience.
Vocally, though?
Subtle isn’t really the word.
Patrick has spoken enthusiastically about Louvau’s scream and the sheer force of his delivery.
That aggression is one of the reasons A PLACE TO KILL works.
Patrick can bring his immediately recognisable voice into the mix without simply turning the project into another FILTER record.
The contrast creates its own identity.
📸 This Partnership Has Been Building For Nearly Two Decades
A PLACE TO KILL didn’t appear because two musicians met last Tuesday and decided to upload something by Friday.
Patrick and Louvau first crossed paths in 2008, when Louvau interviewed Patrick before a FILTER show.
Their paths continued crossing.
Patrick later saw THERE IS NO US perform at The Roxy in West Hollywood, and conversations about eventually doing something together continued.
Years passed.
Music careers happened.
The idea stayed alive.
Then Louvau contributed backing vocals to FILTER’s “Murica” in 2020.
That collaboration provided a clearer glimpse of what they could potentially create together.
Eventually, A PLACE TO KILL stopped being hypothetical.
💥 ‘The Killing Field’ Was The First Warning Shot
The first taste arrived with “The Killing Field” in 2023.
Initially released as the B-side to FILTER’s “For The Beaten” vinyl single, the track effectively introduced the project’s brutal electronic world before the full debut EP arrived.
From there, things escalated quickly.
The self-titled APTK EP landed in June 2026 with seven tracks:
The Killing Field
Drown In A Sea Of Sorrow
Jet Engine
Anger
What Feels Right
Kill All Intruders
Something Inside Of Me
Not exactly titles suggesting everyone had a lovely day at the beach.
🎶 The First EP Proved There Was An Audience
The reaction to APTK appears to have played a major role in accelerating the follow-up.
Rather than cautiously waiting to see whether people still cared a year later, Patrick and Louvau took the positive response as encouragement to make more music immediately.
That speaks to the chemistry between them.
Some collaborations are hard work.
Every song takes months.
Everybody debates every sound.
The creative process becomes a committee meeting with distortion pedals.
Patrick has described A PLACE TO KILL as almost the opposite.
⚡ The Songs Come Together Quickly
Patrick says the writing process between himself and Louvau is highly spontaneous.
They get into the room.
Write lyrics.
Put down vocals.
Build the music.
Keep moving.
And crucially, they don’t overthink everything.
That sort of chemistry is rare.
Musicians spend entire careers searching for collaborators who make creativity feel easy rather than exhausting.
Patrick believes creative blocks are often what eventually damage bands.
With A PLACE TO KILL?
The problem appears to be the opposite.
They have too much material.
Terrible problem to have.
🌆 APTK2 Has A More Cinematic Concept
Louvau has also indicated that the second EP develops a more cinematic atmosphere.
The songs explore the aftermath of a world that has effectively destroyed itself through greed and betrayal.
So, cheerful then.
That concept fits perfectly with the visual identity already surrounding A PLACE TO KILL.
This isn’t simply aggressive music for aggression’s sake.
There’s a broader dystopian environment developing around the songs.
You can almost picture it.
Empty streets.
Broken technology.
Ruined cities.
Screens still flashing advertisements even though civilisation has collapsed.
Somewhere, Richard Patrick is standing next to a synthesiser looking surprisingly pleased about the whole thing.
🧠 Anger Has Always Powered Richard Patrick’s Best Work
Patrick has never sounded particularly convincing when everything is going well.
Thankfully.
Some musicians are built for love songs.
Some for summer anthems.
Richard Patrick sounds like somebody who has just discovered another reason to be annoyed.
That tension powered enormous portions of FILTER’s catalogue.
A PLACE TO KILL gives him permission to take that anger somewhere more extreme.
No requirement for radio structure.
No need to stay within expectations built across decades of FILTER history.
Just noise.
Electronics.
Rhythm.
Hostility.
Excellent.
🎥 The Visual Side Matters As Much As The Music
Louvau’s background as a photographer and director means A PLACE TO KILL naturally approaches visual content differently from bands that simply remember they need a video three weeks before release.
The duo see the project as something broader.
Songs.
Videos.
Photography.
Social content.
Imagery.
A coherent aesthetic.
That’s especially useful for music this cinematic.
If your songs sound like the soundtrack to humanity’s collapse, shooting the video in front of a white wall probably isn’t going to cut it.
🤘 Could A PLACE TO KILL Eventually Play Live?
Here’s where things become particularly interesting.
Patrick has already discussed the possibility of taking A PLACE TO KILL onto stages.
One idea?
A PLACE TO KILL opening for FILTER.
Yes.
Richard Patrick could potentially support Richard Patrick.
Efficient.
No arguments over dressing-room allocation, presumably.
Patrick has suggested the live presentation would remain stripped down in personnel rather than recreating a traditional full-band setup.
Think two performers.
Lights.
Fog.
Electronic intensity.
Something closer to an EDM-style presentation than a conventional rock show.
🌫️ Two People And A Lot Of Smoke
That minimal live setup could suit A PLACE TO KILL perfectly.
The music doesn’t need five musicians standing in traditional positions under white stage lighting.
Its identity is electronic.
Digital.
Claustrophobic.
A performance built around Patrick and Louvau surrounded by smoke, lighting and aggressive production could make considerably more sense.
There’s also obvious festival potential.
Especially on bills willing to blur the lines between metal, industrial music and heavier electronic sounds.
🎸 FILTER Isn’t Going Anywhere Either
Importantly, A PLACE TO KILL isn’t replacing FILTER.
Patrick continues working on FILTER material while allowing this new project to exist alongside it.
That’s probably another reason A PLACE TO KILL can be so extreme.
It doesn’t need to satisfy everyone who wants another FILTER album.
Different project.
Different rules.
Different purpose.
A musician being able to compartmentalise those ideas is generally healthier than attempting to cram every creative impulse into one band.
🔥 Six New Songs Are Coming
APTK2 will contain six tracks, giving the duo another compact burst rather than immediately stretching the project into a traditional full-length album.
That format suits their current creative pace.
Write quickly.
Record quickly.
Release quickly.
Move on.
Patrick has previously discussed eventually packaging the first and second EPs together, potentially giving fans the two halves as a larger combined release.
That could effectively turn APTK and APTK2 into one extended statement.
💿 EPs Make Increasingly Good Sense In 2026
There’s also something refreshing about a band embracing the EP format.
Not every release needs eleven songs and a 64-minute runtime.
Sometimes six tracks are exactly enough.
Get in.
Cause damage.
Leave.
Then do it again.
A PLACE TO KILL have managed two EP campaigns in less time than some bands spend announcing one album.
Hard to argue with the productivity.
⚠️ The Post-Apocalypse Apparently Has A Soundtrack
There’s an amusing contradiction at the heart of A PLACE TO KILL.
The music imagines a world falling apart.
Yet creatively, everything seems to be working brilliantly.
Patrick and Louvau found an easy writing chemistry.
Fans responded to the debut.
Another EP immediately followed.
Ideas keep coming.
So while humanity may be collapsing inside the songs, the band responsible for documenting its demise appears to be having a fantastic time.
Typical.
🤘 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
A PLACE TO KILL are making one thing very clear with APTK2:
This isn’t a one-off Richard Patrick side experiment.
The debut EP arrived in June.
The second follows on 13 November.
And before that, “Keep My Name Out Of Your Mouth” lands on 25 September.
That’s a band moving quickly because the creative chemistry is working.
More importantly, Patrick and Jim Louvau aren’t simply leaning on their previous careers.
A PLACE TO KILL sounds deliberately forward-facing — dragging industrial music through trap production, extreme electronics and modern heavy-music aggression rather than dusting off the 1990s.
Patrick says it’s heavier and crazier.
Louvau says it’s more focused and ferocious.
And apparently the whole thing sounds like civilisation discovering there wasn’t actually a Plan B.
Lovely.
APTK2 arrives 13 November 2026 through No Pulse Records.
Until then?
Keep their name out of your mouth. ⚙️💀🔥🤘
