The Obelisk is pleased to unleash a full stream of Lightbringer, the debut full-length from Finnish death sludge merchants BLACK ROYAL, on the eve of its official release.
A truly dense and obliterating work both musically and thematically, Lightbringer centers itself on mankind’s utter failure in finding inner strength and the empty trust in false ideologies; the soundtrack to a world on the path towards imminent decay.
Offers The Obelisk, “There are a couple different ways one might approach the Tampere four-piece’s rather formidable 10-track/44-minute salvo. It’s either a bludgeoning assault on the auditory senses, laced with underlying heft of groove and tone, but filled with a brutality that reveals itself as a core element whether a given song is fast or slow, rolling, or driving, riff-based like ‘Salvatio’ or something more along the lines of the half-speed grindcore of opener ‘Cryo-Volanic’ and the punkish ‘Denial.’ Or, it’s an anti-religious treatise that incorporates elements of science fiction, Satanic philosophy, narrative craft, and a pointed anti-Christianity doctrine. The truth of Lightbringer, however, is that it’s both.”
Read more and hear Lightbringer, courtesy of The Obelisk, at THIS LOCATION.
View the band’s previously released videos for “Cryo-Volcanic” and “The Chosen.” HERE.
BLACK ROYAL’s thundering Lightbringer will see release on CD, LP, and digital formats via Swedish-Finnish label Suicide Records on March 9th. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION.
“Faith is, more or less, a consequence of fear and ignorance,” elaborates the band of the Lightbringer concept. “Mankind’s quest for meaning is greater than their ability to understand that we hold the key to our own potential and inner strength. This act against the original plan of The Elders and The Wise has led mankind to the brink of their own intellectual extinction. To survive, mankind must abandon the power of religious dogmas and evolve by the strength from one’s inner self. Time has come for the Lightbringer to enthrone and steer man back to the path of free thought and prove wrong their false choices (the reason for current global chaos). Now is time for the new world order. It won’t be divine.”
Hailing from Tampere, Finland, BLACK ROYAL was forged in 2013. The quartet’s music combines modern sludge with ’90s death metal, classic seventies influences, epic choruses and unconventional arrangements, resulting in a distinctly alluring sound often and accurately described as “death blues.” Inspired by beer and occult teachings, their music is laced with distortion and growls proclaiming various themes from free thought to the perils of organized religion. Following two critically-lauded EPs – The Summoning Pt.1 and Pt.2, released in 2015 and 2016 respectively – the band was signed by Swedish-Finnish label Suicide Records and unleashed the Dying Star seven-inch/digital single, serving as the first taste of Lightbringer.
“…a massive, gut-rumbling, head-moving behemoth, dark as night and immediately addictive, with an atmospherically occult melody that soars.” — No Clean Singing on “The Chosen”
“Lightbringer is initially a burly, savagely hybridized sludge beast with a death metal head and a stoner rock fist that can really rise to power when it needs to. Yet throughout its spin I could hear soft-balled nods to early Mastodon (‘Pentagram Doctrine’), Faith No More riffs (‘The Chosen’), and heady Warhorse-like aggro-sludging that rarely felt self-conscious about how it rocks…” — Grizzly Butts
“To step out of the relative unknown already baring an apex predator’s grin is rare, but Lightbringer knows that to define is to limit, and arrives secure in its advanced substance and magnetic presence. Those taken with The King is Blind or Lazarus Blackstar will find plenty to tackle here, as BLACK ROYAL provide more than enough brazen brawn and indomitable force of will to sate any savage yearning.” — Angry Metal Guy
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