Windwaker Hit Back At US Band Accusing Them Of Using AI Art: 'Cry About It'

The day a band announces their debut album should be one of the sweetest. And for Melbourne metalcore outfit Windwaker (affectionately called Windy by their fans), it mostly has been—they weren’t going to let anyone ruin their big day.

This morning (3 May), Windwaker announced that their debut album, HYPERVIOLENCE, will be released on Friday, 12 July, via Cooking Vinyl Australia and Fearless Records—you can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

Windwaker also shared the intricate album art, which is an epic drawing of a person with elements of coloured, growing spikes protruding from their body.

On X (formerly known as Twitter), American band Omerta accused Windwaker of using AI in a lengthy tweet when re-sharing a post about the album announcement.

“Aside from the obviously AI-generated cover art and suspiciously familiar album title, there is nothing ‘hyperviolent’ here. This is exactly why we have, time and time again, advocated for ‘violent art,’” the band wrote before calling the artwork “defanged, neutered, and lobotomized slop.”

There's something fascinating about how the advent of AI tooling has simultaneously enabled and culled out the creatively bankrupt who have made entire careers larping as artists.

Aside from the obviously AI-generated cover art and suspiciously familiar album title, there is… https://t.co/0qC4sLcXPy pic.twitter.com/atB4MoPe56

— Omerta (@ihateomerta) May 2, 2024

Responding to the US band, Windwaker shared a photo of the album art created as a digital drawing by Melbourne director and designer Andrew Vaughan. They captioned the photo “Cry about it,” making their answer a meme.

Cry about it pic.twitter.com/q0rgXT41fP

— Windwaker (@windwakertweets) May 3, 2024

Discussing their reply's humour and the artwork's inspiration, Windwaker told The Music, “We woke up this morning ready to drop our new single ‘Break The Rules,’ and some random band we’d never heard of was accusing us of using AI? So we did what we also do. We made it a meme. Let the record reflect the artwork was made by a real artist (shoutout Andrew Vaughan), and the haters can cry about it lmao.”

Windwaker added that they’re “really proud” of HYPERVIOLENCE, revealing that the artwork was envisioned as a continuation of their previous work, particularly the themes established on their last album, Love Language.

With their artwork, Windwaker are “taking an introspective look at identity, self-confidence, growth, and acceptance. We look through a few different musical and lyrical lenses. It's fun, it's heavy, and it's violent. You’ll have to see what we’re talking about come July 12th.”

In addition to announcing their new album and sharing the artwork, Windwaker did indeed unveil the new single Break The Rules, showcasing a cheeky blend of hip-hop and metal with a memorable, catchy chorus and breakdowns. Check out the music video below.

“Break The Rules explores the exchange between two different personalities and the prospect of living life to its fullest,” the band expressed in a press release. They added, “To put it plainly, it's a conversation between an introvert and an extrovert trying to highlight why their way of life is superior to the other, all while accepting the benefit to both approaches.”

Earlier this year, the band appeared on the Knotfest Australia line-up after dropping the HYPERVIOLENCE singles Sirens and Fractured State Of Mind. You can read The Music’s interview with singer Liam Guinane—who stepped into the role not long before opening shows for Enter Shikari—and find out how he adjusted to taking on screamed vocals here.