Mysterium Tremendum is the long-awaited new full-length from Portland progressive sludge metal merchants LORD DYING. Captured at Los Angeles’ West Valley Recording Studios in August of 2018 with producer Mike Plotnikoff (Fear Factory, In Flames), mastered by Howie Weinberg (Slayer, Nirvana, Pantera, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and swathed in the striking planetary landscape-inspired cover art of Steve R. Dodd, the band’s first full-length in four years is a monolithic, riff-heavy concept album boasting eleven heaving tracks that explore the many facets of dying and what may or may not exist in the afterlife.
In advance of the record’s release, Decibel Magazine is premiering second single, “Freed From The Pressures Of Time.” Issues guitarist/vocalist Erik Olson of the brooding tune, “This track is pretty experimental and progressive for us; we’re very psyched with how it turned out. The song itself is a derivative of a dream that The Dreamer/protagonist of the album is having, longing for death; A paradox for an immortal entity.”
Decibel calls the track, “one of the album’s most enthralling cuts,” adding, “its slow build into soaring melodies and heavier sludge is extremely gratifying, feeling like a journey was accomplished over the song’s runtime.”
An emotionally satisfying record, lyrically and musically Mysterium Tremendum’s exploration of death goes beyond the mere longing for it in order to see what lies beyond (“Lacerated Psyche” is about the death of guitarist Chris Evans’ sister). There are multiple layers to it – you might even find parallels between the record’s concept and life itself. It’s a journey. And in their quest to pursue death, LORD DYING has themselves found new life.
“We set out to write a record about life, and it ended up being about death,” says Olson about the band’s third studio album Mysterium Tremendum. While the new record centers around death, it focuses more on what awaits us on the other side while also exploring our culture’s fear of dying, and the struggles with our own mortality. The ideas for the concept have been kicking around for some time, but it’s fitting that they’re only now coming to fruition.
At the core of these Portland, Oregon, heavy metal titans is Olson and Evans, who’ve been composing music together since fifth grade. They formed LORD DYING before they had a name or a record when another Portland powerhouse Red Fang beckoned them to open some shows for them in 2010. Two records and countless live performances – including tours with Voivod and Crowbar – followed.
Mysterium Tremendum is the record Olson and Evans have wanted to make since the band’s inception. It’s easily LORD DYING’s most musically diverse album, but one that could only be made following the band’s jackhammer 2013 debut Summon The Faithless, and 2015’s brooding Poisoned Altars. “It’s more along the lines of what we wanted to do early on,” says Evans. LORD DYING was already beginning to expand its musical palette – including moodier interludes and Olson’s expanded vocal range – but Olson says once the decision was made to make a concept record, he and Evans pushed themselves to match the themes musically and vocally. You’ll hear it in songs like “The End Of Experience” and the floating “Severed Forever,” which sees Olson melodically doubling his vocals before returning to his trademark growl. Shorter interludes like “Tearing The Fabric Of Consciousness” and “Even The Darkness Went Away” are stunning and fragile, like nothing the band has ever done.
Olson and Evans worked tirelessly on the songs together over the course of a year-and-a-half, using programmed drum parts, and sending ideas back and forth. As Olson puts it, “It was the first time we were really able to put things under a microscope.” The songs were all but ready by the time they headed to West Valley Recording Studios in August of 2018 and L.A.-based bassist Matt Price and drummer Chase Manhattan jumped right in to bring these songs of death to life. The results are huge and seamless.
Mysterium Tremendum will drop worldwide on April 26th via Entertainment One (eOne) on CD, double LP, and digital formats. For iTunes pre-order options go HERE
