Suns Of The Tundra’s new full-length album »The Only Equation« out now via Bad Elephant Music; watch a lyric video for »The Rot«!

UK progressive/psychedelic rockers Suns Of The Tundra share a lyric video for the second single »The Rot« taken from their new full-length album, »The Only Equation«, which was just released this Friday, June 16th, 2023 via Bad Elephant Music.

Tracklist:
01. Snakes And Laders
02. Anorak
03. The Only Equation
04. The Rot
05. Run Boy Run
06. Reach For The Inbetween Part I
07. Reach For The Inbetween Part II
08. Reach For The Inbetween Part III
09. The Window Is Wide

UK prog metal band Suns Of The Tundra release the fifth album of their 20-year career on Friday 16th June 2023 on Bad Elephant Records. This is an abridged lyric video of 10-minute track The Rot. Recommended for fans of Tool (Justin Chancellor played with Suns in their earlier incarnation as 90s alt-rock act Peach), Jadis (who share bassist Andy Marlow with Suns) and Van Der Graph (Suns are huge VDG fans). Channelling the spirit of Genesis 77, three tracks on new album »The Only Equation« feature two drummers – one of whom is uber-prog-fan Al Murray. Artwork in the first part of the video was created by Suns drummer Andrew Prestidge; the second part uses AI-generated images.

»The Only Equation« is the fifth album of the two-decade career of Suns Of The Tundra, released exactly 30 years since the founding members of the band cut their first disc together as Peach. After that project was put on hold when bassist Justin Chancellor was head-hunted to fill the vacant role in Tool, Suns Of The Tundra were formed with the intention of pursuing the same path of progressive metal, dreamy psychedelia and emotionally-resonant songform.

The album’s 60-minute run-time encompasses 7 tracks, including the three-part, 15-minute epic »Reach For The Inbetween«. This is the band’s longest, loudest and most intense recording to date, a heady brew that takes the listener on a journey whose end is only the beginning. An exploration of the strange, unknowable hinterland between the head and the heart, »The Only Equation« continues the cinematic direction taken with 2014’s »Bones Of Brave Ships« album. That release, a soundtrack to South, the filmic account of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to Antarctica, was performed live to projections at venues such as London’s South Bank. With »The Only Equation«, however, the movie exists exclusively inside the listener’s head. A refinement of the style developed on the follow-up to »Bones Of Brave Ships«, 2019’s »Murmuration«, this record serves as an even more incisive expression of the band’s unique approach.

In an anniversary-inspired spirit of celebration the album features an extended line-up of present and past members of the band, including two bass players and two drummers. Suns Of The Tundra members have variously played in acts such as 40 Watt Sun, Warning and Jadis – and, for those who prefer a more familiar name, TV presenter and comedian Al Murray has re-joined the Suns Of The Tundra collective on drums, having previously performed with mainman Simon Oakes throughout the 1990s. On the technical side, the album has been mixed by Chris Fullard, whose engineering and production credits include Idles and Metallica.

Over the two decades of their existence Suns Of The Tundra have carefully curated a distinctively progressive sound for their loyal audience. Though they very rarely play live, the band release new material every 3-4 years, in the belief that quality triumphs over quantity every time. »The Only Equation« is the latest, but not last, addition to the pantheon.

Order »The Only Equation« here:
sunsofthetundra.bandcamp.com/album/the-only-equation

For fans of Tool, Porcupine Tree, stoner, post-rock and progressive sounds.

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well