NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – December 16, 2025
THE RETICENT Unveils Harrowing New Video “The Bed of Wasps (Those Consumed With Panic)” From Acclaimed Album “Please” Out Now!
Fifth Studio Album “please” Available via Generation Prog Records
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L to R – James Nelson (Lead Guitar), Chris Hathcock (Vocals, Guitar, Drums), Paul McBride (Bass)
Photo Credit by Justin H. Reich
The Reticent, the emotionally charged progressive metal project led by Grammy‑nominated music educator and multi‑instrumentalist Chris Hathcock, has released the official video for “The Bed of Wasps (Those Consumed with Panic)”, one of the most visceral and punishing tracks from the band’s latest album, “please,” out now on Generation Prog Records.
“The Bed of Wasps” is the album’s most aggressive and technically demanding moment, a sonic embodiment of panic disorder. Written immediately after Hathcock suffered a real panic attack, the track’s jagged rhythms, dissonant harmonies, and relentless shifts in meter are designed to keep the listener off balance, mirroring the terror and disorientation of the condition itself.
Lyrically, the song is constructed from real statements made by panic‑disorder patients, culminating in the desperate refrain “please stop”, a plea familiar to anyone who has lived through such episodes.
The video amplifies this intensity, plunging viewers into a claustrophobic, escalating psychological spiral. True to The Reticent’s reputation for emotionally devastating performance art, the visuals aim not merely to depict panic, but to induce its sensation.
Watch the video at https://youtu.be/sbugOh1VTR8
The Reticent’s new album “please” is a concept record chronicling the many battlefields of mental illness, insomnia, concealment, panic, depression, dismissal, and the brink of suicide. Hathcock’s writing is deeply autobiographical, each track drawn from lived experience and crafted to immerse listeners in the emotional reality of these struggles.
The album was written in just six months. Drums were recorded in one day, all other instruments in two, but vocals took two weeks, leaving Hathcock with a vocal injury that required six weeks of silence. This is the first Reticent album, almost entirely engineered by Hathcock himself at Silent Muse Studio. Drums were tracked by Jamie King (Between the Buried and Me, The Contortionist) at The Basement Studios, who also mixed and mastered the album. All songs (except “The Bed of Wasps”) were recorded using 6-string guitars, the first time since 2016’s “On The Eve Of A Goodbye.”
Known for its devastatingly emotional live performances, described by Metal Injection as “one of the most heart‑wrenching performances in ProgPower USA history”, The Reticent blends progressive metal, post‑metal, and cinematic storytelling into something wholly its own. The band is slated to appear at the 2026 editions of ProgPower USA in September and ProgPower Europe in October, marking another major milestone for the band’s growing international presence.
Formed as an outlet for Chris Hathcock’s most painful experiences, The Reticent has evolved into a critically acclaimed progressive metal project known for its tragic concept albums and emotionally immersive performances. Previous releases such as “On the Eve of a Goodbye” and “The Oubliette” earned widespread praise, with “The Oubliette” named the #1 essential prog metal album of 2020.
Fans of Opeth, Cynic, The Contortionist, Wilderun, and Devin Townsend will find much to resonate with in “please,” released on November 13, 2025, via Generation Prog Records. A follow-up album is already underway, shaped by the profound loss of Chris Hathcock’s father during the creation of “please.”
CD Order:
North America – https://thereticent.net/please-pre-order
EU – http://www.generation-prog.com/shop/
Digital Album – https://show.co/MoPdl8W
Music Video – “The Concealment (Those Who Don’t Want To Wake)” – https://youtu.be/1cIKQcJLKtc
Lyric Video – “The Scorn (Those Who Don’t Understand)” – https://youtu.be/CR-6wCIpasI
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Track Listing:
1. Intake – 1:45
2. The Concealment (Those Who Don’t Want To Wake) – 6:06
3. The Night River (Those Who Can’t Rest) – 6:55
4. Diagnosis 1 – 2:18
5. The Bed of Wasps (Those Consumed With Panic) – 5:47
6. The Scorn (Those Who Don’t Understand) – 8:12
7. Diagnosis 2 – 2:39
8. The Riptide (Those Without Hope) – 6:09
9. The Chance (Those Who Let Go) – 6:52
10. Discharge – 2:56
Album Length: 49:45
Album Recording Credits:
All instruments and vocals performed by Chris Hathcock except
– Lead Guitar and Additional Acoustic Guitar by James Nelson
– Guest Vocals on “The Bed of Wasps” by Brian Kingsland
– Narration by Vienna Gloom
All songs written by Chris Hathcock
Produced by Chris Hathcock
Engineered by Chris Hathcock
Drums engineered by Jamie King
Mixed and Mastered by Jamie King
Album Artwork by Joscelyne Hauserman
Band Line Up:
Chris Hathcock – Vocals, Guitar
James Nelson – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Paul McBride – Bass, Backing Vocals
For more info: Thereticent.net | Facebook.com/thereticentmusic | Instagram.com/The.reticent.band
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“The Reticent knocked another emotional album out of the park. please is going to be way up my personal album of the year list and gets a very easy 10/10 for my rankings. I really connected with this album emotionally as I discussed, but musically it is absolutely brilliant as well. As always don’t forget to listen to this, stream it and buy it if you love it like I do.” – Technical Music Review
“the North Carolinian group are masters of melancholy… compositionally brilliant” – The Progressive Subway
“I cannot fault this latest release in any way. Five years has been a long time to wait for it but it’s well worth that wait. I and many others now need to wait with bated breath for whatever Chris comes up with next. It’s guaranteed to be excellent; his track record ensures that. 10/10” – The ProgSpace
“please is not exactly a fun experience, but its message is an important one. It’s an unequivocal declaration that mental illness is very real, millions of people live with it, and many ultimately make the horrific choice not to. The Reticent does an excellent job of bringing this issue to life with thoughtfully crafted music. If the heavy-handed narrative elements had been pared back in exchange for one more quality song, the score below would easily have been half a point higher or more. Notwithstanding, please is a crucial reminder that we don’t know what unseen struggles others might experience. Always be kind; it can make all the difference.” – Angry Metal Guy
“In every record The Reticent has composed, you’re made to feel as if you’re Ebenezer Scrooge as the Ghost of Christmas Past vicariously gives you a crash course of whatever the given subject matter is; please is no exception. This is a metaphor I’ve already used before when previously describing The Reticent’s other records because I find it difficult to explain otherwise. please does take this one step further by making you feel as if you’re the main character experiencing it all as opposed to being a distant spectator on the other records… “The Reticent’s please is as close as anyone could get to portraying the horrors of depression in just fifty minutes.” – Everything Is Noise
“I leave these few words directly for Chris hoping that he sees this. It is absolutely clear that you are a genuine soul, a masterful musician, an inspirational music educator, but more importantly, you’re an amazing son. I never got to know you or your father or your family, but as weird and bold as this sounds coming from a complete stranger on the internet that learned about you solely through the music that you make, I know deep in my gut and heart that he is and always will be immensely proud of you. He lives through you and your music, and although it’s immensely dark, please oozes the passion that he instilled deep inside of you. You are far more than you think you are.” – Everything Is Noise
“I truly believe that even though this is technically a prog metal record, there is enough variation in the styles here that this can and will speak to, and be enjoyed by, a wider audience than just prog metal lovers. In that stead, it is not only one of the best releases of the year for metal, but one of the best releases of the prog genre in general. It is a massive leap forward in the maturity and growth of ‘The Recicent’, and it is a “must own” release…. I would classify it as essential to the collection of any serious prog rock physical media collector.” – Progressive Voyages
“Please, the latest release from the North Carolina prog band The Reticent is a very crazy-sounding album that brings up issues of fear and paranoia in a strange fashion. The feeling of the album is very odd and for a prog album somewhat different and unusual. The emotional aspects of the songs are worried and very obtuse. The Reticent leave a twisted, thoughtful frame in your mind and an urgency that makes things interesting. There is a twisted and demented feeling to the album that makes it groovy. The musicianship is solid with a very hopeless feeling taking center stage and inflecting on all of the instruments. This makes the album somewhat depressive, though it is still very complex and progressive.” – Heavy Music Headquarters
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