Finnish sludge/death masters Black Royal release a music video for their brand new single »13th Moon«
Finnish sludge/death masters Black Royal release a music video for the second single »13th Moon« taken from their forthcoming full-length album, »Earthbound«, out on October 21st, 2022 via M-Theory Audio.
Tracklist:
01. Earthbound
02. Ghosts Of The Dead
03. Conjuration
04. Law Of Nature
05. 13th Moon
06. Phoenix Ascending
07. Bleed Your Soul
08. Queen Of The Underworld
09. Bear Cult
10. Barren Land
11. Rite Of Passage
Courtesy of M-Theory Audio:
Finnish metal quartet Black Royal – whose blend of lurching sludge and groove-laden death metal is inflected with lyrics inspired by Scandinavian and Sami mythology – release the second video for new single »13th Moon« taken from the group’s forthcoming full-length album. The video for »13th Moon« was created by Rafael Ortega (Ayreon, Subterranean Masquerade).
“The song started as a rehearsal room jam between Toni and I. I had the main riff, and we were excited to do more of an uptempo rocker that would be fun to play live and get some heads moshing!” says bass player Pete. “When we played the song the first time with the whole band it seemed to click instantly and had a great groove to it. Naturally, as we couldn’t resist doing a middle part that starts heavy and then takes the song into space.”
“Half of the songs on the album (including »13th Moon«) received final vintage keyboards performed by the fantastic Niko Saarinen, who also plays keyboards in Lasten Hautausmaa (pop/rock) and Vesilinka (’70s prog rock),” further explains Pete. “Lyrically the song is about a natural cycle of seasons. Modern time is thought of as linear time, where peasant life was cyclical with the beginning and the end coincide. The end of the spring harvest was the end of the year, and the new year started a bit later. To balance it evenly there was a twelve-day extra time to spend. It was a time for an annual cyclic rebirth where the earth reforms for better and donates plenty of crops. Nature was supposed to stay fertile like before, as well as people were fertile too.”
Their anticipated 3rd album, »Earthbound«, is set for release Oct. 21, 2022 and pre-orders are now available at smarturl.com/blackroyalfinland including limited-edition phoenix ascending colored vinyl (limited to 300 copies) or Digipak CD.
Black Royal entered Studio Watercastle in August 2021 to begin laying down the tracks that would become their third full-length album – and M-Theory Audio debut – »Earthbound«. Mixed by Oskari Hakala Rahko (Lordi, Blind Guardian) and mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde (Convulse, Oranssi Pazuzu), the record is set to be the group’s heaviest mix of sludgy riffs and death metal power yet. The band is also set to unleash their wicked brew once again on live stages across Finland and elsewhere this summer. The full list of live performances is below.
»13th Moon« follows the pummeling title track for »Earthbound« which debut in June and can be watched below.
Black Royal formed in Tampere, Finland in 2013, and unleashed two self-released EP’s – 2015’s »The Summoning Pt. 1« and 2016’s »The Summoning Pt. 2« before signing with Swedish-based Suicide Records for the release of their 2018 debut full-length, »Lightbringer«. The latter slab of sludge-infused death metal made waves within their homeland’s metal scene by making Inferno Magazine’s Top 10 Albums of 2018 list. The album was praised by Angry Metal Guy for its “giant riffs and primal groove” and applauded by Metal Temple for its “refined arrangements and impactful atmosphere.” The group also made its presence felt on the live stage after the release of »Lightbringer«, culminating in a performance at Tuska Open Air 2018.
Black Royal’s second album »Firebride« was released in February 2020. The effort saw the group continue to build upon the momentum of their previous effort and refine their varied influences into a more cohesive display of suffocating death metal, hypnotic sludge, and catchy rock hooks. MetalSucks asserted that Black Royal crafted “some pretty gnarly sludge ‘n’ roll” and No Clean Singing noted that “for all its buzz-saw riffery and doomy delirium, ‘Firebride’ [was] all about the hooks.” Ghost Cult Magazine cited vocalist Riku’s “harsh bark” and Jukka’s “mammoth drums” while also giving plaudits to a sound that was “given touches of both tradition and imagination by [guitarist] Toni’s lead play” and bass notes from Pete that resembled “a jet taking off.”
More information on Black Royal and the upcoming release of »Earthbound« will be revealed in the weeks to come at facebook.com/blackroyalmusic and by M-Theory Audio.
Black Royal Live Performances:
Sept. 17 – Bar Monttu, Pori, Finland
Oct. 1 – Ottopoika, Kuopio, Finland
Oct. 7 – Varjobaari, Tampere, Finland
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well