UNLEASH THE ARCHERS Releases Soaring New Anthem “Soulbound”, AETHER REALM To Reissue Acclaimed 2017 Album Tarot, DRACONIAN Unveils Second Single and Lyric Video for “Sorrow Of Sophia”, VARG Release Title Track “Zeichen” and Official Video.
Canadian melodic power metal quartet UNLEASH THE ARCHERS recently announced the upcoming release of their masterful fifth full-length concept album, Abyss, out August 21, 2020 via Napalm Records. With Abyss, the band re-cements themselves as an unequalled, undeniable metallic force with their strongest album to date.
Today, as a follow-up to the otherworldly first single and video “Abyss”, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS have unveiled another blazing new single, “Soulbound”, alongside a cinematic, high-concept music video. Powered by Brittney Slayes’ powerful mezzo-soprano, the virtuosic guitar stylings of Andrew Kingsley and Grant Truesdell, and the thunderous drumming of Scott Buchanan, “Soulbound” pulls the listener into a melodic, lightning-fast journey. Its massive chorus and skyrocketing symphonics will echo in your ears for days to come!
Frontwoman Brittney Slayes says about “Soulbound” and the music video concept: “This song is what we call a ‘quick-banger’ in the UTA camp. It’s short, fast, catchy, and never lets up. We always have one of these on every record; the kind of song that makes you want to turn the dial up to 11, maybe drive a little faster, perhaps even stand up and headbang by yourself in the middle of the room. This track re-introduces the four sons of The Matriarch as enslaved, unstoppable, half-dead beings that won’t give up until The Immortal is destroyed, and we feel like it can stand on its own while not giving too many of the album’s secrets away… Get out your air-guitars ’cause this one is blistering!”
The video was shot by Runegate Studios in Victoria BC, Canada and uses two very different environments to differentiate between the world of the living, and the world of the ‘Soulbound’. The bright, white, indoor scenes portray a reality much like our own, while the dark, rain-soaked, outdoor scenes take the viewer to a visually stunning reality that will give you goosebumps and make your skin crawl! In this dismal place, The Matriarch has complete control over the Soulbound, and she can compel them there whenever she desires, no matter how hard they may resist.”
It’s no secret that AETHER REALM’s acclaimed 2017 release Tarot is the album that truly surged these melodic death heroes onto the metal map, and now, fans can own the album in an array of exceptional new formats upon its reissue with Napalm Records on September 11, 2020!
The North Carolina-based quartet’s massive, now 12-track/70+ minute sophomore release (expanded with the addition of previous standalone single “The Magician” to the new physical edition) garnered notable underground appeal and cemented the band’s mind-blowingly multi-faceted sound as their own – spurring prominent metal blogs such as No Clean Singing and Angry Metal Guy to dub the album as an “enormous accomplishment” and “spectacular”, respectively.
Frontman/bassist Vincent “Jake” Jones says: “Four years ago, we made a promise… and it’s finally time we made good. Our 2017 album Tarot is being re-released on CD and vinyl by Napalm Records. The re-release will feature new cover art by Adrian Baxter and will include the song “The Magician” like we’d originally intended. To those of you that donated to receive vinyl in our original crowdfunding campaign, we’ll be in touch.
The album clocks in just shy of 80 minutes in length and includes our most lengthy and ambitious singular musical effort to date – “The Sun, The Moon, The Star”. Tarot was our first full length album with Kile Odell on mixing, mastering, and production. Additionally, we worked with Dan Müller of Wilderun for the orchestration, with Philip Reed for choir arrangement and recording, and with members of Paladin, Inferi, Alestorm, Lorelei, and many others for guest musical contributions of all kinds.
Our eternal thanks goes to all who have played a role in providing us the resources to make the music we’ve created so far. As for what the future holds, of course there’s no way to tell… or is there?”
In celebration of today’s announcement, watch a brand new live performance video for “Death” here.
DRACONIAN, the sovereigns of melancholic Gothic Doom Metal and colossal lyricism, have released their second single “Sorrow Of Sophia”, off their upcoming album, Under A Godless Veil, out October 30, 2020 via Napalm Records.
Watch the lyric video for “Sorrow Of Sophia”
The opening epos on DRACONIAN’s new offer epitomizes the story behind the album and introduces the world of Gnosticism to the listener. Delicate guitar lines weave throughout “Sorrow Of Sophia” while the ethereal vocals of singer Heike Langhans accompany the melancholic vibe of the song. At the very latest, when the heavier guitar and drum parts start, the song will draw you into the world of DRACONIAN. Heavy growls underline the sudden change in the song and will make you remember the essence of the band. The beautiful conceptualized lyric video perfectly underlines the narrative and musical atmosphere of “Sorrow Of Sophia”. Their stunning second single showcases another expressive facet off their upcoming full-length and shouldn’t be missed in every well groomed Gothic/Doom Metal collection!
Vocalist Anders Jacobsson comments: “Sorrow Of Sophia was the first lyric, and one of the first songs written for Under A Godless Veil. This was years ago now, and I remember I’d just finished a lecture on Gnostic cosmology by Terence McKenna. He’d been speaking of the goddess Sophia’s ordeal and her story affected me on a very deep level. It’s sad yet heart-wrenchingly majestic bringing all of existence into it. I knew I had to do something with it for DRACONIAN as I was already having a few of Johan’s new song-ideas. This sparked what was later to become a whole album inspired by this story. It started here, with this song.
“Sorrow Of Sophia” is a complex song about a complex spiritual being. With it comes a diverse nature consisting of an initial minimalist soulful expression to feisty, heavy riffing with a harsh demonic formula to post-rock melancholia and symphonic soundscapes. Heike’s pure and crystalline vocals are beautifully entrenched holding the very spirit of the song.”
Pre-Order Under A Godless Veil
VARG return to the heritages of pure Pagan Metal!
The wolves of VARG return to their roots with their seventh full-length album, Zeichen (engl. “signs”), to be released on September 18, 2020 via Napalm Records.
The album marks a new era of the wolves haunted by wild battles, death and bloodlust – a resurrection from the fields of Pagan Metal, pairing razor-sharp melodic death riffs with Freki’s furious vocals. Forget anything you have seen or heard about them in the past few years and embrace the new album as a reboot of a band that never ceased to evolve and has gotten rid of everything superfluous.
VARG sets an uncompromising sign with first monumental single “Zeichen” (engl. signs), which comes along with an official video and introduces the concept behind their upcoming offering. Visually and lyrically, their first single draws the listener deep into the Viking era, picturing their traditions, a strong community cohesion, ancient runes, the old gods and their beliefs. The chorus gets stuck in your head, coalesces with the blasting power of riffs and perfectly showcases the reincarnation of VARG. ”Zeichen” is the ultimate hymn heralding the age of the wolves.
Singer Freki states: “”Zeichen” is the heart of our new album, maybe even of the “new” VARG. It was important to us to release the title song first along with an official music video, since it reflects the energy of our new full-length both musically and visually, and invites our fans to the legendary era of the Vikings. Follow us on a journey!”
Watch the video for the title track “Zeichen” (engl. signs)
Pre-Order the new album Zeichen
