Kevin Bronson on November 6th, 2020

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Satellite Citi have cut a swath across the L.A. hard rock landscape since their early singles led to 2018’s “Negative Space” EP. Their heavy, visceral sound is the brainchild of Armenian-Americans Anna Gevorkian (lead vocalist and drummer) and Shaunt Sulahian (guitarist and backing vocalist), who perform live with a pair of side musicians in spacesuits.

The duo’s heritage has never been far from their radar — their first single, 2015’s “Rock Bottom,” commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. And their new single, “Antibody,” which features vocals from Brandon Yeagley of Pennsylvania rockers Crobot, is dedicated to the people of Armenia during this time of conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. (Satellite Citi has special merch for the single, proceeds from which benefit the Armenia Fund.)

“Our track ‘Antibody’ lyrically is about overcoming obstacles and silencing your enemies, no matter how hard they might try to bring you down,” the duo says. “The music video helps us connect the song back to our motherland, Armenia. With the recent war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and continuous war crimes happening to Armenian civilians, carried out by Azerbaijan and Turkey, we felt the need to let people know we are here, standing together, stronger than ever, and nothing will change that.”

The dramatic video by director Rosie Geozalian is filled with symbolic imagery from Armenian culture and history. [See Loudwire’s premiere of the video for a primer on that imagery.]

“We had already started working on the ‘Antibody’ video when I woke up one morning to reports of the attacks occurring in Artsakh and Armenia,” Geozalian says. “As members of the Armenian diaspora, the tragedies taking place consumed our thoughts and emotions; the visuals shifted to reflect that. Creating the video for ‘Antibody’ became a way of processing the ongoing cultural trauma we face as Armenians, while paying homage to our brothers and sisters risking their lives to protect the motherland.”

Like their EP, the song was produced by Brad Wood — he’s helming Satellite Citi’s forthcoming debut album “Fear Tactics,” due next year. It follows this summer’s release of “Black Magic,” one of several Satellite Citi songs appearing in the documentary film “Long Live Rock & Celebrate the Chaos,” which features the likes of Metallica, Slipknot, Korn and Rob Zombie.

||| Watch: The videos for “Antibody” and “Black Magic”