Photo by John Malley
Decibel Magazine is currently streaming Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind, the new full-length from Seattle, Washington-based progressive black metal practitioners IZTHMI. The premiere comes on the eve of the record’s official release on Friday, March 4th via Satanik Royalty Records.
In the ever-changing landscape of society and the world at large, the IZTHMI collective found themselves lost in a place that has become less and less recognizable. As the world continues to change in ways that are both terrifying and inevitable, IZTHMI seeks to move forward. Leaving This World, Leaving it All Behind represents the mourning of the losses that we all have endured these last couple of years, and a celebration of the victories and hopes of what is to come. As we leave this world behind, we look towards a better one.
Notes the band, “Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind, is both a literal and metaphorical statement about leaving, a life and system that was never made for us, behind: Through the acts of self-preservation, resistance, and ultimately even giving up entirely. The biggest message on the album is about empowering the self to take control over our own reality and the things that we have control over. In doing so, we create a kinder, more understanding environment for all of our surroundings. But just as the album’s narrative is akin to our present reality, the industrialized world and those who facilitate it, (even ourselves), stand in the way of a greater peace and understanding.”
Adds Decibel, “Invoking the descriptor ‘progressive’ when describing a band’s music can unfortunately mean a lot of things, some more positive than others. Does it mean the songs are extra-long, or that there are perhaps elements atypical of whatever musical style to which the term is applied? Or maybe it just means ‘weird.’ Back in the ’70s ‘prog rock’ was pretty much all of the above, and frequently involved flutes. Thankfully Seattle-based quintet IZTHMI… embodies the best parts of progressive by taking their modern black metal and infusing it with folk, post-metal and ambient influences. And no flutes.”
Stream IZTHMI’s Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind early, courtesy of Decibel Magazine, at THIS LOCATION.
Leaving This World, Leaving it All Behind’s eight tracks were captured by renowned producer/engineer Billy Anderson at the Hallowed Halls, mixed by Anderson at Everything Hz, mastered by Justin Weis, and comes cloaked in the mystical artwork of Andrzej Masianis.
Leaving This World, Leaving it All Behind will be released on vinyl and digital formats. Find physical preorders at THIS LOCATION and digital preorders HERE.
In 2016, a shared passion for atmospheric black metal drove founding members Autumn Day and Nolan Head to begin writing music for the band that would eventually become IZTHMI. As time went on, they eventually completed their lineup with Jakob Keizer, Brett Tomsett, and Gabe Kangas, forming the quintet that is the band today. The band’s critically lauded debut full-length The Arrows Of Our Ways, explored the journey of self-realization through the confines of social struggle that many of us experience today. Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind looks towards a better tomorrow.
IZTHMI:
Jakob Keizer – vocals, modular synths
Autumn Day – guitar, piano
Brett Tomsett – guitar, additional vocals
Gabe Kangas – bass, piano
Nolan Head – drums, additional vocals
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