Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual weekly reminder that if you're looking for even more sick bands, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
I've got something really cool for you today from one of my favorite modern tech-death bands, Vale of Pnath. Their 2011 debut album, The Prodigal Empire, is hands down still one of the best debuts from a newer tech-death group in the last 10 years in my opinion. It took a couple of years but they had a great sophomore album follow up in 2016 called II. I was really excited to help the group premiere "A Nightmare Phantasm" here at Metal Injection prior to that album's release. Today we have a killer song premiere and music video launch for "The Darkest Gate" taken from their new EP, Accursed, out May 17th through Willowtip Records.
Accursed is an interesting expansion for Vale of Pnath soundwise, it's still very much within their signature technical melodic death metal sound supported as always by lethal grooves and spine-crushing brutality. But, Accursed definitely goes all in on a darker, more black metal influenced world more than any prior release, sometimes with added symphonic enhancements that are another new wrinkle in their sound here. All of which definitely is on display throughout "The Darkest Gate" which we're exclusively premiering for you today. The intro to the song itself is a foreboding swell of eerie evil of a pitch black nature that ultimately descends into a full-throttle overload of catchy melodies, jagged brutality, and killer shredding amidst ravenous vocals and truly pulverizing drum work furthering the intensity. The aforementioned new symphonic elements present on the new EP also make an appearance later in "The Darkest Gate" and adds yet another layer of intensity to the song.
Guitarist and core songwriter Vance was kind enough to share quite a bit of information about today's premiere and the new EP, stating that "The Darkest Gate" was an exploration into a different side of my writing. Vale of Pnath has always had a blackened undertone and with this EP, and song, in particular, I wanted to bring it to the forefront. I really took a step back from what I’m used to writing for the band and focused on creating an atmosphere and mood. My goal with this song was to blend some of my favorite types of black metal with technical riffing and I like to think that this is showcasing another side of the band. I urge fans to listen to the EP in its entirety upon its release, to truly experience it fully."
That statement gets right down to what Accursed and "The Darkest Gate" is all about, and you really should check the full seven-song effort once it's out as its damn good. So click play below and check out “The Darkest Gate" and enjoy the added bonus of the killer horror-themed music video that accompanies it. If you’re liking what you hear below, Accursed comes out on May 17th through Willowtip Records. You can order it from the Willowtip site, a separate link for vinyl, and in various formats through the Vale Of Pnath Bandcamp Page. You can follow the group over on Vale of Pnath Facebook Page.
