“Lucid Dawn hits a brutal techdeath grand slam with its perfect merge of wickedly tight fretboard wizardry and earth-shattering grooves.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy
Today marks the release of Lucid Dawn, the anticipated new full-length from progressive death metal architects, ARKAIK and in commemoration of its official unveiling, Heavy Blog Is Heavy is streaming the record in its predatory entirety.
Featuring the addition of guitarists Miguel Esparza (ex-Hatriot) and Greg Paulson as composers as well as guest appearances from death metal heavyweights, Trevor Strnad and Ryan Knight of The Black Dahlia Murder and Bay Area live string quartet, Amaranth, Lucid Dawn delivers a fresh approach to the band’s signature sound and the progressive death metal genre as a whole.
“ARKAIK manage to imbue fresh life into their brutal technical death metal through the sheer power of their writing,” boasts Heavy Blog Is Heavy in a 4/5 review of Lucid Dawn. “Nothing feels out of place; every staggeringly complex tech riff, lightning-fast solo and slammy chug hits home perfectly. The simple use of small samples, synths, and symphonics accentuates the album greatly, bringing another dimension to an already powerfully tight band… Lucid Dawn hits a brutal techdeath grand slam with its perfect merge of wickedly tight fretboard wizardry and earth-shattering grooves.” Dead Rhetoric agrees, noting in an 8.5/10 score, “Firmly entrenched in the technical death metal sound, ARKAIK show just how appealing the genre can be when approached from the right angles. There’s no gimmicks, no over-the-top guitar wankery, just crushing death metal with enough intricacy to blow your mind yet allow you to whistle that riff that got stuck in your head for the rest of your day.” No Clean Singing hails the band’s, “head-spinning display of insectile tech-death frenzy – the kind of performance that somehow feels both machine-tight and berserk,” Two Guys Metal Reviews lauds an offering that’s, “tastefully arranged and audaciously orchestrated,” while Wonderbox Metal adds, “ARKAIK merge insane brutality and technicality with a modern death metal sensibility that allows them to reap the benefits of both styles. The combination of complexity and catchiness makes for songs that have both immediate appeal and longevity; the perfect combination in my book.”
Bask in the sounds of Lucid Dawn, currently contaminating the air waves of Heavy Blog Is Heavy, at THIS LOCATION.
ARKAIK‘s second installment in a series of concept albums, Lucid Dawn centers itself around Cyrix, a disillusioned character in a dystopian society. In Cyrix’ realm, dreaming is systematically controlled by a tyrannical ruler named Khaal-Li-Phar and his army of dark shamans, where people are forced to build monuments to the tyrant to stifle their imaginations and inhibit their ability to achieve a multi-dimensional existence. Musically and conceptually, Lucid Dawn is a death metal take on American mythologist, writer and lecturer, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and the beginning of Cyrix’s “Hero’s Journey,” that seamlessly carries its listeners on a visceral expedition through the depths of evil and beyond the threshold of mundane reality.
ARKAIK are currently in the midst of a near month-long headlining tour which commenced on October 16th. Featuring support from Bermuda and Unique Leader labelmates Inanimate Existence, The Lucid Revolution Tour will hit Albuquerque tonight and come to a close November 8 in San Francisco with additional live terrorization in the plotting stages.
ARKAIK – Lucid Revolution Tour w/ Bermuda, Inanimate Existence:
10/30/2015 Blu Phoenix – Albuquerque, NM
10/31/2015 The Quarry Bisbee – Bisbee, AZ
11/01/2015 The Rogue – Scottsdale, AZ **
11/02/2015 Doll Hut – Anaheim, CA **
11/03/2015 Elks Lodge – San Bernardino, CA **
11/04/2015 Five Star Bar – Los Angeles, CA **
11/05/2015 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA **
11/06/2015 Chinatown Youth Center – Fresno, CA **
11/07/2015 PB&J’s – Reno, NV **
11/08/2015 DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA **
** w/ Inanimate Existence
Lucid Dawn was engineered, mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren (Suffocation, Fallujah, Wrvth, All Shall Perish et al.) at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California and is out NOW worldwide via Unique Leader Records. Order bundles are currently available at THIS LOCATION.
http://www.facebook.com/ArkaikBand
http://www.uniqueleader.com
http://www.facebook.com/UniqueLeaderRecords
http://www.twitter.com/UniqueLeaderRec
http://www.youtube.com/uniqueleaderrecords