Völur unveil the second single »Dead Moon« taken from their forthcoming studio album, »Death Cult«

Canadian folk doom metal outfit Völur unveil the second single »Dead Moon« taken from their forthcoming studio album, »Death Cult«, which will be released on November 13th, 2020 via Prophecy Productions.

Tracklist:
01. Inviolate Grove
02. Dead Moon
03. Freyjan Death Cult
04. Reverend Queen

“To me, »Death Cult« is the culmination of years of experimenting with the capabilities of my electric violin. Völur is a guitar-less universe that’s granted me a lot of sonic space to revel in. I’ve never understood how the electric guitar became a pillar of coolness, whereas the electric violin is often typecast as a novelty. I hope this album brings some substance to the electric violin arena and at the very least is a strong argument for plugging a fiddle into a wah pedal,” says Laura C. Bates.

To the casual listener, Völur might ‘just’ appear to write great doom songs with an avant-garde approach using elements from folk, classical music and free jazz. Those delving deeper into »Death Cult« will discover a singular dark world where ancient ritual becomes modern angst, a violin has replaced all guitars, and a multitude of fascinating lyrical and musical discoveries awaits.

The third full-length of the Canadian trio from Toronto was partly inspired by a suggestion of human sacrifice that Tacitus relates in his book »Germania«. According to the Roman historiographer, the Germanic tribes of the Baltic Sea worshipped the earth goddess Nerthus by a mysterious ritual that ended with the drowning of four slaves. “I came to the realisation that this sacrifice to some never answering deity is a repeating cycle of people doing something that does nothing to solve real problems and only leaves dead people behind”, explains Völur vocalist and bass player Lucas Gadke. “This makes »Death Cult« probably the closest thing to a political album we will ever come up with. It is basically a lament for all the destruction, the burning, and gnawing away of this planet’s natural environment. Again, humankind appears to be stuck in a futile vicious cycle until it is too late.”

The theme of a lament is running through the musical side of »Death Cult«, which is denoted by outbursts of anger, moments of melancholy, and audible despair. Although Völur clearly fit into the doom metal mould, they connect to a far broader soundscape. Folk or traditional music playing an important role as exemplified by the violin replacing guitars, but the Canadians are equally at home in contemporary genres.

While staying true to the folk doom style that the trio introduced with their debut EP »Disir« (2014) and expanded on the first full-length »Ancestors« (2017), the third album witnesses Völur honing their craft. »Death Cult« is characterised by a tightening of compositions and a complete amalgamation of the separate stylistic influences into one cohesive musical experience that still offers a broad range and a host of details waiting to be discovered.