With thrash metal influence and some of the hardest hitting rhythms on PetroDragonic Apocalypse that Joey has likened to being inside of a tornado, “Supercell” fits its name. A supercell is a type of thunderstorm known for its rotating updraft core, a condition prime for creating tornadoes. In the album’s narrative, these storms (made intense through climate change and the worship of “motor spirit”) make their way across the world with devastating consequences. The band utilizes various references to tornadoes (sickle wedge, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot), as well as their depictions in popular culture (eg. The Wizard of Oz, or the idea of cows being picked up) to illustrate a chaotic, deadly apocalypse.
During a show on 2022-10-06 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Stu mentioned that they had written more songs about the end of the world. When asked what songs in particular by Joey, he responded “it's about tornado alley, all the storms merging together and dragons.” This would be the first mention of “Supercell,” as well as the story of PetroDragonic Apocalypse. The song was released as the second track on the album on June 16th, 2023 with a limited 7” single with the b-side of “Converge” for the band’s Barcelona record fair on August 24th, 2023.
On The Silver Cord, the opening riff of “Supercell” was adapted with a change in key and rhythm to create the main opening melody of its title track.
The song made a live debut before the release of PetroDragonic Apocalypse on 2023-06-01 at The Caverns in Pelham for the first show of the band’s 2023 residency tour. The song would then reappear at every residency and was played a modest amount afterwards through the rest of 2023. Since then it has become a live staple, even receiving a Jay Weinberg-edited drum cam video featuring their performance on 2024-08-31. The song is typically played on its own, although there have been exception such as 2023-07-22 and 2024-08-24.