Portland, Oregon-based progressive sludge metal outfit, Lord Dying, have just unleashed “The Universe Is Weeping,” the third single from upcoming album, Clandestine Transcendence. The new full-length is set for official release on January 19th via MNRK Heavy records, on CD, LP, and digital formats. Head into the article below to find out more, and catch the video for “The Universe Is Weeping.”
Comments vocalist/guitarist Erik Olson, “We are very psyched to premiere the opening track and video for “The Universe Is Weeping” off our upcoming album. This song picks up directly where our previous album leaves off. Post death. Blazing beyond the cosmos and outside the realms of consciousness. Total dissolution of the self. Into Clandestine Transcendence.”
Adds Alyssa Maucere (vocals/bass), who directed and produced the video, “When asked to direct the video for “The Universe Is Weeping,” I couldn’t help but tackle the concept of the Cosmic Calendar. For instance, the Universe’s birthdate is January 1st. Life on earth = Sept 30th. Human history is Dec 31st at 23:59:57. We consume everything in our path as our sources of energy, some of which have been on earth for over 600 million years. If the past can tell us anything about life, a new life form could come along one day that decides that they can house us, raise us, and overfeed us to become their most preferred source of energy. Or we could just destroy each other before that day may come, which seems more likely to me.”
From the earliest rumblings of their debut demo and self-titled EP (both issued in 2011), through the piledriving force of 2013’s Summon The Faithless and devastating despair of 2015’s Poisoned Altars, Lord Dying has composed masterfully melancholic music for the misanthropic, with grit and grime.
On Clandestine Transcendence, co-founders Erik Olson and Chris Evans (guitar) are joined by Alyssa Maucere (former bassist for Eight Bells) and Kevin Swartz (current drummer of Tithe). Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou (High On Fire, Code Orange, Kvelertak) at his God City Studios, the twelve-track offering steps even further into the great unknown, filled with riffs and vibes.
Clandestine Transcendence picks up where 2019’s critically championed Mysterium Tremendum left off. Latin for “awe-inspiring mystery” or “terrible mystery” depending on one’s view of existence, Mysterium Tremendum began a narrative centered on a central character the band calls ‘The Dreamer.’ Olson describes The Dreamer as an immortal being who wants to die. On Clandestine Transcendence, part two of a planned trilogy, he gets that wish. “This one is about what happens beyond death,” the frontman explains.
Woven throughout the songs, that story and its rich thematic material inform a wholly immersive listen. Tension, drama, and atmosphere abound all over songs like “Unto Becoming” and latest single, “The Universe Is Weeping.”
The massive scope and melodic vocals found on Clandestine Transcendence expand upon the band’s already singular sound while sharpened songwriting, emphasizing hooks, helps push both extremes of the band beyond prior limits. Simply put, the softer side is even dreamier; the heavy side is twice as brutal.
Clandestine Transcendence tracklisting:
01 The Universe Is Weeping
02 I AM NOTHING, I AM EVERYTHING
03 Unto Becoming
04 Final Push Into The Sun
05 Dancing On The Emptiness
06 Facing The Incomprehensible
07 A Brief Return To Physical Form
08 A Bond Broken By Death
09 Break In The Clouds (In The Darkness Of Our Minds)
10 Soul Metamorphosis
11 Swimming In The Absence
12 The Endless Road Home
Watch the band’s previously released videos for “I AM NOTHING, I AM EVERYTHING” and “The Endless Road Home”
Lord Dying:
Erik Olson – vocals/guitar
Chris Evans – guitar
Alyssa Maucere – bass/vocals
Kevin Swartz – drums
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