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 to hear, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
I had some cool premieres the last two weeks and definitely stay tuned moving forward as I'll have early full streams the next few weeks for Chiliasm, Unfathomable Ruination, and a few weeks after those two, Cathexis and Noctambulist for Willowtip Records besides the late-May one for Unfathomable Ruination. Today I've got the early exclusive launch of a killer new song from Alustrium called "Join the Dead". The song comes from the group's third album, A Monument to Silence, out July 18th through Unique Leader Record. As usual, you can immediately scroll below and check out today's premiere, or read on first and learn more about the release.
Although the group is fairly well known in tech-death circles, it does seem fair to explain what they're about given it's been a while as far as active status goes until last year. To make a long story short, these talented lads are probably best known for their 2015 second album, A Tunnel To Eden. An album that saw Alustrium creating a unique take on progressive death metal meets tech-death that really had more of a progressive bent than anyone else around as far as modern groups in this style go. After a number of years focusing on Galactic Empire and other things, Alustrium came back with a strong as fuck comeback EP effort in 2020 called Insurmountable. I'm really glad we could launch one of the singles here in this space.
So now we can get around to "Join the Dead" and everything it has to offer even though I feel strongly compelled to write a separate and way too long album review here in addition to covering this song. The song does a great job at conjoining the prog-death, chunky groove-laden death metal-inspired angle, blackened edges, and tech-death facets of their sound into something special. It's a great singular glimpse into what the band has perfected musically, though it feels important to mention this song isn't everything the group is capable of or showcases on their new album, A Monument to Silence.
As usual, I asked if I could get some new information for today's premiere and Alustrium vocalist Jerry Martin kindly share that "Conceptually, Join the Dead sets the stage for much of the story that is to come throughout ‘A Monument to Silence’. It was really important to us that the concept be matched instrumentally and vocally, and the result is a mix of chaos up front and heavier, darker instrumentation later in the song. The lyrics detail feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, as well as the initial consequences of rash decisions made in response. Like the rest of the record, while there is a literal, objective interpretation of the lyrics, we’ve also tried to create something that can be experienced subjectively and be meaningful to anyone."
So be sure to check out Alustrium – "Join the Dead" below. Pre-orders for Alustrium – A Monument to Silence can be placed here and here. You can follow the group over on the Alustrium Facebook Page.
