Abandon All Faith Strigoi

• 1 The Rising Horde 01:26
• 2 Phantoms 04:26
• 3 Nocturnal Vermin 01:49
• 4 Seven Crowns 03:17
• 5 Throne Of Disgrace 01:48
• 6 Carved Into The Skin 06:05
• 7 Parasite 04:40
• 8 Iniquitous Rage 03:21
• 9 Plague Nation 03:19
• 10 Enemies Of God 03:26
• 11 Scorn Of The Father 03:51
• 12 Abandon All Faith 06:37
• Total Runtime 44:05

Info for Abandon All Faith

Als PARADISE LOST-Gitarrist Greg Mackintosh sein Sideproject VALLENFYRE 2018 zu Grabe trug, schloss er damit ein schwieriges und zugleich kathartisches Kapitel seines Lebens. Das als Hommage an seinen 2009 verstorbenen Vater John erschaffene Projekt war ursprünglich nur zur Verarbeitung von Gregs tiefer Trauer gedacht, entwickelte sich im Laufe der Jahre jedoch zu einem nihilistischen Statement an die Welt. VALLENFYREs kurze Existenz war von vorn herein geplant und sollte nach den drei veröffentlichten Studioalben ein Ende finden. Doch nur wenige Tage, nachdem die Band ihre letzte Show im September 2018 gespielt hatte, verkündete Greg Mackintosh, dass die Reise weitergehen würde und aus der Asche sein neues Projekt STRIGOI aufgestiegen war.

»Abandon All Faith« strahlt mit einer weiten Gespaltenheit innerhalb der Songs, von 2-minütigen D-Beat Hämmern (‘Nocturnal Vermin’, ‘Throne of Disgrace’), disharmonischen Death Metal Stampfern (‘Phantoms’, ‘Parasite’) bis zu unbestrittenen Glanznummern ‘Carved into the Skin’ und dem Titeltrack. Beide Seiten leben von schweren, erdrückenden Melodien und im Falle des abschließenden Titeltracks finden sich sogar kleine orchestrale Momente wieder. Der erste Song, den Mackintosh für STRIGOI schrieb war ‘Carved into the Skin’ - er diente schon früh als Wegweiser, wohin das Projekt führen sollte.

Greg Mackintosh, vocals, guitars
Chris Casket, bass
Waltteri Väyrynen, drums (studio only)

Strigoi
When PARADISE LOST guitarist Greg Mackintosh put to rest his VALLENFYRE side project in 2018, he closed a difficult, but an ultimately cathartic period in his life. Created as a tribute to his father John, who passed away in 2009, VALLENFYRE originally served as a sounding board for Greg's grief, but then delved into his nihilistic take on the world. VALLENFYRE's brief existence was intentional — the band always knew they could go no further than the three studio albums that bore their name. A mere few days after VALLENFYRE played its last live show in September 2018, Mackintosh announced the formation of a brand-new band, STRIGOI. Freshly signed to Nuclear Blast, the English twosome will release its debut album "Abandon All Faith" on November 22nd and the first single will soon see the light of day.

Named after the troubled spirits in Romanian mythology who could rise from the grave and assume an entirely different form, STRIGOI's lineup is rounded out by former EXTREME NOISE TERROR and VALLENFYRE bass player Chris Casket. (PARADISE LOST drummer Waltteri Väyrynen provided studio drums but will not be a full-time member.) Recorded at his Black Planet studio between January and March 2019, the resultant 12-song "Abandon All Faith" debut finds Mackintosh culling from his love of old-school death metal, grindcore and punk for a visceral, but cinematic offering of extreme metal. Whereas VALLENFYRE was down-and-dirty, crusty and often "in the gutter," STRIGOI conjures feelings of both dread and hostility, laced with Mackintosh's trademark lead guitar lines and biting death metal roar.

"With VALLENFYRE, we went down this path where it got more and more crusty," Greg Mackintosh explains. "I thought we couldn't take it any further, so I needed to put in some new elements. With STRIGOI, there's a bit of spookiness, even some subtle elements of industrial and even black metal. The goal was to switch it up a bit. I was perfectly content with what I was doing in VALLENFYRE, but for STRIGOI to stand on its own, I wanted to try new things to separate ourselves from the pack."

This album contains no booklet.