With everything they do, Swedish genre-blending rockers, Dampf, remain unique in their idiosyncrasy. It should therefore not come as a surprise for the band to release today, not one, but two brand new singles and videos.
“War With The World” and “Might As Well Have Died” juxtapose two tales, one of light and one of darkness. The two singles are taken from their sophomore album, No Angels Alive, out this Friday, August 23 via Silver Lining Music.
With Dampf there will always be contrasts and opposites, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, dreams and nightmares, comedy and tragedy… but through it all runs the common thread of theatre, of the grandiose, of the joys in the unpredictable, and an overwhelming confidence in embracing them all. Whether the gothic dungeon of “War With The World” or the snakes and misty forests of “Might As Well Have Died,” Dampf reigns supreme in telling stories of theatrical chaos and color.
The first song “War With The World” is a maritime singalong-flavored juggernaut. “Persuading people to go to war by using powerful words is obviously a complex subject. Take for example Napoleon. He made people go euphorically wild with his speeches and suddenly people were charging towards the ‘enemy’ with only pikes or other makeshift weapons even though they knew that the enemies were stronger and larger in numbers. They felt invincible thanks to those speeches: people just responding with flock mentality to those words, instead of taking a moment to think, ‘hold on, you’re going to fight that person for what?! A bottle of rum or whatever?’ Madness!” chuckles singer/songwriter A-Tron.
“The second song, ‘Might As Well Have Died,’ is probably Dampf's darkest yet,” A-Tron continues. “The lyrics are the dark thoughts you can sometimes have, for various reasons, when you can't sleep. ‘Why am I putting energy into all of this when it's done anyway?’ It can be a simple relationship that has ended, you think you have done everything that you can and it still goes to hell. Or you try to work or study for a better future, then a handful of dictators start wars in all corners of the world… threatening me with nuclear weapons when I just had a baby, what the hell? It’s a feeling of cold, empty hopelessness.”
Led by singer/songwriter A-Tron (Martin Erikson aka E-Type) and keyboardist/songwriter Beak, No Angels Alive is an all-in ten-song storytelling experience blending expansive yet tightly bound stylistic ingredients incorporating hard rock, thrash, melodic power metal, and electronic edges. Recorded at Yard Street Studios (Solna, Sweden) and produced by Jona Tee, be gloriously warned: Dampf’s second studio offering, No Angels Alive, is not - and never was - conceived to be for the faint of heart.
Completed by vocalist Bhéara aka Olivia Thörn, drummer Haderajja aka David Wallin (HammerFall), bassist Bahari aka Pontus Egberg (King Diamond, The Poodles), guitarists Skaeggyxa aka Love Magnusson (Dynazty) and Sha-Zam’s aka Sam Söderlindh, and growler Arkoūda aka Björn Åkesson, Dampf engages in a theatrical journey through the timeless historical corridors of human darkness and their opus, No Angels Alive, plays like a grand collective performance piece, with an innate sense of beautiful, catchy melody finding ample room and context alongside the overall brutality of Dampf.
Scary yet colorful, heavy yet catchy, listen to No Angels Alive with a genreless mind and an open heart; the rewards of this immense and unique album will be plentiful.
No Angels Alive will be released on CD digipak, 12” Gold And Black Splatter vinyl, digital formats, and special D2C products and bundles. Preorder here.
Tracklisting:
“No Angels Alive”
“Masquerade”
“Ghost”
“Might As Well Have Died”
“Heart Of Darkness”
“War With The World”
“Hellfire”
“Away”
“Mists Of Avalon (Don’t Wake Me Up)”
“Dark Side Of My Moon”
"No Angels Alive" video:
“Masquerade” video:
Dampf are:
Martin Erikson [A-Tron] - vocals
Olivia Thörn [Bhéara] - vocals
Beak - keys
David Wallin [Haderajja] - drums
Pontus Egberg [Bahari] - bass
Sam Söderlindh [Sha-Zam’s] - guitar
Love Magnusson [Skaeggyxa] - guitar
Björn Åkesson [Arkoūda] - growls
(Photo - Ted Lindén)
