Portland progressive sludge metal conjurors Lord Dying have unveiled their haunting new animated video for “The Endless Road Home,” the closing track of their long-awaited new studio album, Clandestine Transcendence.
Pre-save / pre-order your copy now at this location.
From the earliest rumblings of their debut demo and self-titled EP (both issued in 2011), through the piledriving force of 2013’s Summon The Faithless and devastating despair of 2015’s Poisoned Altars, Lord Dying has composed masterfully melancholic music for the misanthropic, with grit and grime.
In 2019, the band delivered Mysterium Tremendum. The heady and adventurous existential reflection on death of that record served as the impetus to a trilogy, and that story continues in 2023 with an increasingly ambitious follow-up, Clandestine Transcendence.
On Clandestine Transcendence, Lord Dying cofounders Erik Olson (guitar, vocals) and Chris Evans (guitar) are joined by Alyssa Mocere (former bassist for Eight Bells) and Kevin Swartz (current drummer of Tithe). Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou (High On Fire, Code Orange, Kvelertak) at his God City Studios, the twelve-track opus steps even further into the great unknown, filled with riffs and vibes.
Mysterium Tremendum – Latin for “awe-inspiring mystery” or “terrible mystery” depending on one’s view of existence – began a narrative centered on a central character the band calls The Dreamer, a conceptual theme that drove expansive, sometimes monstrous, and even plaintive and vulnerable music. Olson describes The Dreamer as an immortal being who wants to die. On Clandestine Transcendence, he gets that wish.
Of “The Endless Road Home,” Olson notes, “This song is dedicated to all the road dogs, travelers, bands, crew, people that make tours happen, people that go to shows and general rabble rousers. We salute you.”
Clandestine Transcendence is a wholly immersive listen. Tension, drama, and atmosphere abound all over songs like “The Universe Is Weeping” and “Unto Becoming.” The massive scope and melodic vocals found on album three expand further on Clandestine Transcendence. Sharpened songwriting, emphasizing hooks, helps push both extremes of the band beyond prior limits. Simply put, the softer side is even dreamier; the heavy side is twice as brutal.
Clandestine Transcendence will be released on January 19, 2024 via MNRK Heavy on CD, LP, and digital formats.
Clandestine Transcendence artwork and tracklisting:
"The Universe Is Weeping"
"I Am Nothing I Am Everything"
"Unto Becoming"
"Final Push Into The Sun"
"Dancing On The Emptiness"
"Facing The Incomprehensible"
"A Brief Return To Physical Form"
"A Bond Broken By Death"
"Break In The Clouds (In The Darkness Of Our Minds)"
"Soul Metamorphosis"
"Swimming In The Absence"
"The Endless Road Home"
"The Endless Road Home" video:
(Photo by Neil DaCosta)
