Italy’s The Modern Age Slavery announce the release of their fourth and new studio album, called “1901 | The First Mother”, which will be released on May 5th, 2023, via their new label Fireflash Records (Holy Moses, Mystic Circle a.o.). Any fan of extreme metal will be blown away by their crushing mix.
Praised by Metalsucks.com as “the most underappreciated metal band in all of Italy, and possibly all of Europe”, the five-piece lies somewhere on a vast spectrum of blackened deathcore and aggressive metal. Coming equipped with grinding blast beats, merciless brutal vocals and slaughtering rapid-fire double bass patterns their sound developed and became increasingly unique over time.
Today, The Modern Age Slavery release their first single, along with a video clip, for the track “KLLD”. Watch the video below.
Vocalist Giovanni Berselli comments: “The lyrics are freely inspired by a poem from Blaise Cendras entitled ‘J’ai tué’ (namely, I’ve Killed) that tells the horror of a French, naive and young poet, forced to turn into the killer of a German soldier for self-defense, during the first world war. The words reflect the images, the scent, the fear and the emotional struggle of a pure-hearted man soiled with evil”.
The band also kicks-off the album pre-order for “1901 | The First Mother”, which will be released on a CD digipak, digital as well as a bundle with the CD and an exclusive T-Shirt.
Pre-order “1901 | The First Mother” here.
Tracklist:
01. Pro Patria Mori
02. KLLD
03. Irradiate All The Earth
04. The Hip
05. Lilibeth
06. Overture to Silence
07. OXYgen
08. Nytric
09. Victoria’s death
10. The Age of Great Men
11. Blind (Korn cover)
About the concept and meaning of the album, the frontman Giovanni Berselli says: “‘1901 | The First Mother’” is not a concept album, but there are some pivotal themes throughout. The album title hides a twofold meaning. On one hand, ‘1901’ recalls the year in which Queen Victoria, of the House of Saxe, passed away decreeing the beginning of Modernism in Philosophy or, in other words, the establishment of the Modern Era. The subtitle – ‘The First Mother’ – underlines that, in my mind, this album is the first chapter of a trilogy in which I will try to paint, with words and music, several forms of self-imposed slavery. ‘1901’ draws inspiration from Pre-First World War poets, philosophers, and scientists. The following chapter shall try to describe the post-world war scenario, whereas the third and final chapter will resemble the yet-to-come, though inevitable, future in which we will all let part of our lives to be driven by others. These last lines, somehow, pull me back to the actual The Modern Age Slavery manifesto, initially inspired by the book ‘Escaping From Freedom’ by Erich Fromm, which investigates the psychological state of mind of uneducated masses, willing to avoid the responsibility to choose for their own future”.
The cover artwork has been realized by our guitarist Ludovico Cioffi who was able to capture the deep meaning of the lyrics in this fantastic work. In his words he explains the meaning of the statues and the eyes you see: “The album cover has been inspired by the lyrics of the song ‘Lilibeth’, that is the nickname of Queen Victoria’s Daughter. The First Mother is represented throughout three phases of time. The Past, where She holds a skull. The Present, symbolized by an Eye in an open Womb. The Future, painted as a hourglass. The wide open Womb is portrayed as a carcass and recalls the dichotomy of life and death, the unavoidable curse of each and every beings brought into the world – a curse and a blessing though, since the end of life is somehow the end of our Slavery. In essence, the Eye in the Womb is the architect that ceaselessly beholds the flow of time and the engendering of cyclically repeating human tragedies”.
Since forming in 2007, The Modern Age Slavery have triumphed over their challenges. After the release of their demo, which was nominated “Demo of the Month” in Rock Hard Germany, they got signed to Napalm Records for the release of the debut album “Damned to Blindness” (2008). Thanks to significant acclaim from the metal world, The Modern Age Slavery extensively toured across Europe both as headliners and as support act, joining the “Evisceration Plague Tour” featuring Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus & Obscura and the “Doomsday X Tour” featuring Malevolent Creation and Vomitory. The band also played selected shows with Fleshgod Apocalypse, Sepultura, Decapitated, Suicide Silence and more.
The release of the second album “Requiem For Us All” (2013) pushed their death metal war machine one step forward again, and brought the band on the road along with Gorgoroth, Vital Remains, Hypocrisy, plus many gigs on national soil. Four years later The Modern Age Slavery released their third full-length “Stygian” after a line-up change, which signed a new chapter in the sound of the band, introducing black metal riffing, keyboards, atmospheres and orchestral elements. Released by Innerstrength Records, the album brought the band on tour around Europe, supporting Vader and Entombed A.D. in their “European Chaos Tour” 2018, as well as sharing stages with Jinjer, Decapitated, Incite, and recently they hit the road again, having played in big festivals with Slipknot, Sabaton and Behemoth.
The year of the corona-pandemic, when the music world was forced into a standstill, The Modern Age Slavery focused on the writing and recording of their new piece of art, “1901 | The First Mother”, which will see the light of the day in May 2023, via Fireflash Records.
Live Shows 2023:
24/03/2023 Podium Gigant, Apeldoorn (NL)
12/05/2023 Isola Rock – Isola Della Scala, Verona (IT)
Line-up:
Giovanni Berselli – Vocals
Mirco Bennati – Bass
Luca Cocconi – Guitars
Ludovico Cioffi – Guitars
Federico Leone – Drums
Weblinks:
www.themodernageslavery.com
www.facebook.com/tmasofficial
