Heterochrome, from Iran, has a second album coming out this year “From the Ashes”. Their last album “Melancholia” came out in 2017 to rave media reviews from around the world. The writing and production of this new offering has taken four years to complete and was recorded in multiple countries including Iran, Finland, Canada, Spain, and South Korea, while the mastering took place in Russia. Unlike the first album, this album features a lot of recorded acoustic instruments including live acoustic drums and cello.
The first single is “Baraye Farda, For Tomorrow” and one of the last songs put on the album. The band explains how it came to be:
“This track started as Arash was pondering on climate change, global warming, and the general state of danger our world and home planet is in. After writing the first verse and chorus he sent it to Mida, who instantly fell in love with it even before hearing what it meant to Arash. Mida immediately got to writing the second verse, drawing from the sociopolitical environment of Iran and letting Arash know they needed the song in the album. This is one of our favorite tracks, coming from different backgrounds, it can be interpreted differently for any individual listener”.
With a wide variety of influences ranging from progressive rock to 90s and beyond alternative and gothic scenes, Heterochrome merges Iranian social and political issues into melancholy and diverse music. “From the Ashes” was written as a concept album, with every single track forming a small part in a bigger picture. Each track has a unique story by itself and can be enjoyed individually, but the album has been tailored with smooth transitions between them.
Eclectic and innovative, Heterochrome is recommended for fans of Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and Gojira.
“From the Ashes” will be released on May 13th, 2022.
Tracklist:
1. Baraye Farda, For Tomorrow
2. Badbadak, The Flight
3. Rage Against the People
4. WOTB
5. The Bearing
6. Transition
7. Time’s Up
8. Through Evil Within
9. Sargardan, Wanderer
10. The Outlaw
Heterochrome started when Arash Rezaei, and Mida Malek met and collaborated as the lead guitarist and vocalist in 2014. The band started recording their first album (“Melancholia”) at Chaotic Waves studio in Tehran, Iran when Mohammad Mirboland joined as drummer in 2016 followed by Armin Afzali on bass and Amir Taghavi on rhythm guitar who joined later on during the band rehearsals. “Melancholia”, which was a concept album based on Dante’s Divine Comedy turned dark, was officially released and distributed in 2017, followed by a one-night exclusive live performance of the album in Tehran in January of 2018. The band now consisting of guitarist Arash, vocalist Mida, and drummer Mohammad has developed a different sound for their second album “From the Ashes”, with lyrics and music pointing out social and political issues of both their home country Iran, such as incarceration and criminalization of the metal genre, choice of sexual identity and female singing, and on a larger scale, the world, such as the climate change dilemma.
Weblinks:
heterochrome.com
facebook.com/heterochromeband
