Feb. 13 — More than three years after dropping its then latest album, Abyss, Unleash The Archers is set to release its new offering this spring.
The band announced Tuesday, it is scheduled to release its new album, Phantoma May 10 through Napalm Records. According to information provided in a news release announcing the album’s pending release, the record is a concept album that centers on the development and role of artificial intelligence. The information follows the story of one particular AI gaining sentience in “a dystopian, near-future planet Earth.”
In anticipation of the album’s release, the band has premiered the album’s lead single, ‘Green & Glass‘ and the song’s video, which was itself created using AI. The song’s nearly six-minute musical arrangement is an up-tempo composition that is everything audiences have come to expect from the band. The soaring signature power metal guitar lines are there alongside the equally solid time keeping and even vocalist Britney Hayes’ delivery offers up plenty of melodic prowess. Even more interesting are the moments when she launches into some very powerful death metal style growls.
The song’s lyrical theme is part of the album’s bigger story. It is just one chapter of the story.
The video for this new single follows its main character, a female AI being who comes to a city and tells her tale of an evil leader who apparently has some rather sinister plans.
The band talked about ‘Green & Glass’ in a prepared statement.
“We struggled for a while to decide which song would lead the way for this record, and in the end chose ‘Green & Glass’ because it is the song that inspired the cover artwork, but also because it doesn’t give too much away about the concept behind the album,” the statement reads. “We wanted nothing more than to be able to create a fully cinematic retelling of the story through our music videos, and were so stoked when the boys at RuneGate Studio expressed an interest in learning how to use Stable Diffusion to make our dreams come true! They trained the model on the work of Bo Bradshaw, which gives it a beautifully unique animation style; we got to bring his magnificent t-shirt artwork to life!”
Phantoma will release through a variety of platforms, all of which are noted below along with the album’s track listing.
Phantoma track listing:
1. Human Era
2. Ph4/NT0mA
3. Buried In Code
4. The Collective
5. Green & Glass
6. Gods In Decay
7. Give It Up Or Give It All
8. Ghosts In The Mist
9. Seeking Vengeance
10. Blood Empress
Phantoma will be available in the following formats:
-Earbook Edition with 2CD (2 Bonus Tracks and instrumental version of the album), 7″ Single (2 bonus tracks on Black vinyl), 60 pp booklet (Napalm Mail Order only – limited to 1000)
-2LP Gatefold in Marbled Orange Red with 24 page vinyl booklet and artprint (Napalm Mail Order only – limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Glow In the Dark (Napalm Mail Order only – limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Splatter Aquamarine Orange (Napalm International Mail Order only – limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Transparent Lime Green (Napalm North American Mail Order only – limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Silver (North American indie retail only – limited to 700)
-2LP Gatefold in Black
-Cassette Tape Edition in Fluorescent Green with White Print (Napalm Mail Order only – limited to 200)
-Jewel Case CD Edition
-Digital Album
In other news, Unleash The Archers has an extensive tour schedule planned in support of Phantoma. The world tour’s schedule is noted below:
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS on tour:
Legions of Metal Festival:
5/03 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies
Australia and New Zealand Headliners:
6/05 – Canberra, AU @ Basement
6/06 – Sydney, AU @ Manning
6/07 – Melbourne, AU @ Croxton
6/08 – Brisbane, AU @ The Zoo
6/09 – Adelaide, AU @ Lion Arts
6/13 – Auckland, NZ @ Galatos
6/14 – Wellington, NZ @ Valhalla
European Festivals:
7/05 – Ballenstedt, DE @ Rock Harz
7/06 – Knislinge, SE @ Time To Rock
7/12 – Visovice, CZ @ Masters Of Rock
7/19 – Laukaa, FI @ John Smith Fest
7/21 – Baile Figa, RO @ Celtic Transylvania
8/02 – Wacken, DE @ Wacken Open Air
8/09 – Villena, ES @ Leyendas Del Rock
8/10 – Walton-On-Trent, UK @ Bloodstock
Supporting POWERWOLF in North America:
8/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hollywood Palladium
8/31 – Denver, CO @ The Ogden Theatre
9/03 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
9/04 – Cleveland, OH @ The Agora Theatre
9/05 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
9/07 – Tampa, FL @ Jannus Landing
9/08 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
9/09 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
9/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
9/13 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
9/14 – New York City, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
9/15 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
More information on Unleash the Archers’ new single and album is available along with all of the band’s latest news and more at:
Website: http://unleashthearchers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UnleashTheArchers
Twitter: http://twitter.com/unleasharchers