Amythyst Kiah’s New Song ‘Play God and Destroy the World’ Was Inspired by ‘The Matrix’

Amythyst Kiah will release her new album, Still + Bright , on Oct. 25. Produced by Butch Walker, it features 12 tracks from the singer, songwriter, and banjoist, along with a few collabs.

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The first pairs Kiah with S.G. Goodman and serves to announce Still + Bright . Titled “Play God and Destroy the World,” it’s a callback to a song Kiah wrote as a teenager. While this version is ultimately different from the original, its title — inspired by the 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix — remains.

“ The Matrix was a foundational movie for me, in which I realized that suburbia is a facade meant for people to deceive each other of their humanity through a protocol of platitudes and whispers behind each others’ backs,” Kiah said in a statement.

Along with the Goodman cameo, Still + Bright features a song with Billy Strings (“I Will Not Go Down”), one with Walker (“Silk and Petals”), and another with vocalist Avi Kaplan (“Die Slowly Without Complaint”). Walker wrote or co-wrote all of the dozen tracks. The closing “People’s Prayer” was written with Tim Armstrong, co-founder of Operation Ivy and Rancid.

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Still + Bright will be released by Rounder Records, and Kiah will support the album with a fall tour that includes an Aug. 9 appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.

Still + Bright track list:
1. “Play God and Destroy the World” (feat. S.G. Goodman) ( Amythyst Kiah, Sadler Vaden )
2. “S P A C E” ( Kiah )
3. “Empire of Love” ( Kiah, Sean McConnell )
4. “I Will Not Go Down” (feat. Billy Strings) ( Kiah, Butch Walker )
5. “Silk and Petals” (feat. Butch Walker) (Kiah )
6. “Die Slowly Without Complaint” (feat. Avi Kaplan) ( Kiah, Jeremy Lutito, Avi Kaplan )
7. “Gods Under the Mountain” ( Kiah, McConnell )
8. “Dead Stars” ( Kiah )
9. “Dark Matter” ( Kiah )
10. “Let’s See Ourselves Out” ( Kiah )
11. “Never Alone” ( Kiah, Walker )
12. “People’s Prayer” ( Kiah, Tim Armstrong )

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