Portland progressive sludge masters Lord Dying will release their long-awaited new full-length album, “Clandestine Transcendence”, on January 19th, 2024, via MNRK Heavy, today unveiling the record’s first single, cover art, and preorders.
Lord Dying transforms tragedy into triumph. From the earliest rumblings of their first demo and self-titled EP (both issued in 2011), through the piledriving force of “Summon the Faithless” (2013) and crushing despair of “Poisoned Altars” (2015), the band has conjured masterfully melancholic heavy music for the misanthropic, with grit and grime.
In 2019, they delivered “Mysterium Tremendum”, a record Kerrang! declared a “prog-metal masterpiece”. The heady and adventurous existential meditation on death kicked off a trilogy and that story continues in 2023 with an increasingly ambitious follow-up, the aptly named “Clandestine Transcendence”.
Lord Dying cofounders Erik Olson (guitar, vocals) and Chris Evans (guitar) are joined by Alyssa Mocere (former bassist for Eight Bells), and Kevin Swartz (current drummer of Tithe). Chicago Reader crowned “Mysterium Tremendum”, “a beautiful meditation on tragedy”. Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou (High On Fire, Code Orange, Kvelertak) at his God City Studios, “Clandestine Transcendence” steps even further into the great unknown, filled with riffs and vibes.
“Mysterium Tremendum” (Latin for “awe-inspiring mystery” or “terrible mystery”, depending on one’s view of existence) began a narrative centered on a central character the band calls The Dreamer, a conceptual theme that drove expansive, sometimes monstrous, and even plaintive and vulnerable music.
Olson describes The Dreamer as an immortal being who wants to die. On “Clandestine Transcendence”, 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 an immersive listen. Tension, drama, and atmosphere abound all over songs like “The Universe is Weeping” and “Unto Becoming”. The massive scope and melodic vocals found on album three expand further on “Clandestine Transcendence”. 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.
Comments Olson: “We are super psyched to announce the release of our new album ‘Clandestine Transcendence’ on MNRK Heavy, recorded by the incredible Kurt Ballou at God City Studios. In addition to our new album, we are premiering the first single/video, ‘I Am Nothing, I Am Everything’. The video was directed by the incomparable Zev Deans, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. We are touring Europe with mighty UK doom legends Conan this Fall. Come out and bang your head! Tour starts in under two weeks. Let’s do this”!
Watch the official video for “I Am Nothing, I Am Everything” below.
“Clandestine Transcendence” will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preorders here.
Tracklist:
1. The Universe is Weeping
2. I Am Nothing, I Am Everything
3. Unto Becoming
4. Final Push Into the Sun
5. Dancing on the Emptiness
6. Facing The Incomprehensible
7. A Brief Return to Physical Form
8. A Bond Broken By Death
9. Break in the Clouds (In the Darkness of Our Minds)
10. Soul Metamorphosis
11. Swimming in the Absence
12. The Endless Road Home
European Tour Dates 2023:
10/11/2023 Fleda – Brno, CZ
10/12/2023 Kapu – Linz, AT
10/13/2023 Bad Bonn – Dudingen, CH
10/14/2023 Caves Du Manoir – Martigny, CH
10/15/2023 Freakout Club – Bologna, IT
10/16/2023 Orto – Ljubljana, SI
10/17/2023 Dürer Kert – Budapest, HU
10/18/2023 Arena – Wien, AT
10/19/2023 Pod Minoga – Poznan, PL
10/20/2023 Chemiefabrik – Dresden, DE
10/21/2023 Rahuset – Copenhagen, DK **
10/22/2023 Revolver – Oslo, NO
10/23/2023 The Abyss – Gothenborg, SE
10/25/2023 Bahnhof Pauli – Hamburg, DE
10/26/2023 Reset – Berlin, DE
10/27/2023 Cafe Glocksee – Hannover, DE
10/28/2023 Samhain Festival – Maastricht, NL
10/29/2023 Chinastraat – Ghent, BE
10/30/2023 UT Connewitz – Leipzig, DE
10/31/2023 Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, DE
11/01/2023 Les Tanneries – Dijon, FR
11/02/2023 Salamandra – Barcelona, ES
11/03/2023 Jimmy Jazz – Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES
11/04/2023 Connexion Live – Toulouse, FR
11/05/2023 Grillen – Colmar, FR
11/06/2023 Feierwerk – Münich, DE
(all dates with Conan)
** (no Conan)
Line-up:
Erik Olson – Vocals & guitar
Chris Evans – Guitar
Alyssa Maucere – Bass & vocals
Kevin Swartz – Drums
