Photo by Sam Coussens
Psychedelic post-metal trio and recent Pelagic Records signees, PSYCHONAUT, will release their debut full-length, Unfold The God Man, on March 6th.
PSYCHONAUT literally came from out of nowhere — Mechelen, Belgium, to be precise — but their debut album showcases truly world class musicianship and songwriting abilities, heavily influenced by ’70s bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, but also drawing inspiration from contemporary heavy artists like Tool or Amenra. Recorded by Chiaran Verheyden at the renowned Daft Studios in Malmedy, Unfold The God Man is an intricate concept album tackling philosophical and existential themes, and ultimately exploring mankind’s re-ascension to a higher level of consciousness. The nearly seventy-minute-long album contains material from over three years of incessant writing, arranging and recording.
“We’ve always been interested in religion, spirituality, and philosophy,” comments Stefan DeGraef, who oversees all guitars and half the vocals in PSYCHONAUT. “We’ve meditated together, had long discussions about the nature of life, the origin of consciousness, the purpose of existing etc. for as long as we’ve known each other. We share a common vision and have a connection. We were blessed with some experiences in the past which fundamentally changed the way we look at the universe and ourselves.
It comes as no surprise then that there is a lot of attention to detail behind Unfold The Godman: one such feature is the fact that the album was recorded with the note A tuned to 432 Hz, because this relates to the idea that 432 is a multiple of the number 9, which is used in much of the symbolism to which the band refers.
In advance of the release of Unfold The God Man the band is pleased to unveil a video for the track, “Kabuddah,” noting, “The videoclip for ‘Kabuddah’ was recorded at Belgium’s finest venue Ancienne Belgique when we opened for our friends in Brutus on December 14th, 2019. We’ve known them since we invited them to play their first show ever with us all the way back in 2013. More than six years later, Brutus returned the favor and asked us to open for them in one of the biggest venues in Belgium. We thought this was the perfect opportunity to record our first video. ‘Kabuddah’ is the third song on the album but is actually the second-to-last chapter of the album concept. In this chapter, the protagonist lets go of the concept of duality of ‘man’ and ‘god’ and embraces the fact that there is only oneness. To portray the illusion of duality, ‘Kabuddah’ became one of the heaviest songs on the album with most vocal parts being screamed, while carrying a very positive message. Fun fact 1: ‘Kabuddah’ contains the longest sentence on the album: ‘Seven angels on my back whispered secrets of the six-tusked white beast in the shrine where I manifest the true state of no mind.’ Fun fact 2: ‘We named the song after a Buddha-shaped garden gnome that was given to us by our good friend and roadie Franky Lucas.”
Check out “Kabuddah,” now playing at Ghost Cult, at THIS LOCATION.
PSYCHONAUT‘s Unfold The God Man will be available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preordering info below:
North America – http://bit.ly/psychonautNA
Europe – http://bit.ly/psychonautEU
Australia – http://bit.ly/psychonautAUS
Digital – http://bit.ly/psychonautUTGM
Unfold The God Man Track Listing:
1. All I Saw As A Huge Monkey
2. The Story Of Your Enslavement
3. Kabuddah
4. The Fall Of Consciousness
5. Sananda
6. Celestial Dictator
7. Halls Of Amenti
8. Nexus
9. Nothing Is Consciousless
PSYCHONAUT made themselves a name across the Benelux underground with a raw and compelling live show, which merges their wall of sound with intense visual landscapes and moody lighting design. Contrast and variation are the two main anchors on which they base their musical and visual ideas. Since 2013, they have released two physical EPs – 24 Trips Around The Sun (2014) and Ferocious Fellowman (2016) and taken the stages of Desertfest, Rock Herk, and Putrock Festivals.
“Unfold The God Man spans everything in a very heady way, often creating a unique amalgamation of tones with the highest quality of songwriting abilities.” — Heavy Blog is Heavy
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