October Noir collaborated with American gothic rock singer Myke Hideous (frontman of the gothic rock band The Empire Hideous, and previous member of the Misfits), alongside mixing engineer Kfir Gov, and mastering engineer Maor Appelbaum to create their new single “The Ages”, a brooding, dark, and gothic song that transcends traditional rock and metal to create an entirely new sound. Tom and Myke had been planning on creating music together since their side project Momento Morti several years back, and finally found their iconic sound together with this single.
Watch the music video below, and pre-order the compact disc release of the single here.
The music video footage for "The Ages" was taken at the Dark Force Festival in New Jersey earlier this year. It is a collection of footage from the crowd's cell phones. It's the first time Myke Hideous has taken the stage since 2019.
With the help of mastering engineer Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Yes, Meatloaf, Sepultura, Sabaton), whom October Noir had met through working on their third album Fate, Wine, And Wisteria, the song was taken to a whole new level. Maor eventually introduced the team to mixing engineer Kfir Gov, owner of Evil Snail Studios and lead singer of Seek Irony, who helped the team tune into their rock and metal influences to achieve the sound they desired.
The group teamed up to create a sultry gothic, slow-burning romantic anthem, filled with feelings of yearning and what could have been. Lyrics like “Within this box remains a key, to unlock my distant memories. For just one moment I held your hand, and the ages passed between us,” showcase the talented writing from Myke Hideous, while slow, brooding guitar exemplifies the classic goth/doom-rock influence of October Noir. The music video showcases a live performance from October Noir, and slow-motion head-banging and guitar strumming entrances the crowd, and the listener.
“Tom and I talked on the phone and discussed our joint musical influences, and as someone who grew up on the likes of Type O Negative and Paradise Lost, I immediately connected with his vision and fell in love with 'The Ages' and October Noir's musical style. It was my pleasure working in close touch with Tom and Maor while paying close attention and responding to the band's and Myke's feedback, as we collectively brought their artistic and sonic vision to life in this song.” - Kfir Gov, mixing engineer for “The Ages” and owner of Evil Snail Studios.
"As the creator of the lyrical content for the song 'The Ages', I find it to be a passionate love story like no other. I've written many of broken heart songs before with my bands, The Empire Hideous & SpySociety99, but this song was kind of different. It will have different meanings for other people than it does for me. But that's just the way I've always written song lyrics. I allow the listener to define the song’s lyrics into their own personal meaning" - Myke Hideous, writer of “The Ages”.
“I was approached by the band to work with them on mastering this song. I heard it and dug into it so much that I wanted to help them out by recommending a mix engineer who can really take it to the next level. So I recommended Kfir from Evil Snail Studios to mix the track. Kfir did a great job that I was very happy with, and I just sprinkled sugar on it by doing the Mastering.” - Maor Appelbaum, mixing engineer for “The Ages”
“The inspiration, for me, was everything happening sonically and lyrically. There is just something about it and I didn’t want it to go to waste. My interpretation of it was from the main wording 'and the ages pass between us.' It just hits home and is very heavy. Like sitting in the clouds of lament and watching life escape you. You try to grip for control, but you find that nature, ultimately, controls all things; human or otherwise. Fate has a funny way of removing the things that you find are the most important.” - Tom Noir, founder, bassist, and lead vocalist of October Noir
For further details, visit October Noir on Facebook.
