28 January 2021 - 0 Comments

With two full-length releases and ten years of Australasian touring under their belt, Christchurch, New Zealand-based progressive death metal quintet Blindfolded And Led To The Woods present the band's third album, Nightmare Withdrawals, a record which sees the band taking their already unstoppable craft to the next level of technical decimation. Now confirmed for late March release, the band has issued the cover art, track listing, preorders, a brief teaser and more on the new record.

Nightmare Withdrawals features the strongest work from Blindfolded And Led To The Woods to date. Much like NZ peers Ulcerate, BALTTW often explores atypical terrain, no more so than on Nightmare Withdrawals. Vocalist, Stace Fifield, notes, "We've learned from our previous releases and produced our most mature and refined output yet. Groove-based movements feature more heavily than before, and coupled with our signature feverish and frenetic approach, Nightmare Withdrawals is a 'coming of age' for the band, both creatively and personally."

Fueled by trauma, yet wholly cathartic, Nightmare Withdrawals' sinuous songs exhibit technical mastery and raw emotionality. The band's hometown of Christchurch has suffered through natural disasters, a terrorist attack, and now a pandemic. However, as Fifield points out, "We're resilient people, and although it would be easy to channel our negative responses into counterproductive behaviors, Blindfolded And Led To The Woods create music as a vent for our feelings. Our songs journey through a range of ideas, both lyrically and musically. Aggression, sadness, humanity, and beauty are all to be found within."

In a coup for the band, legendary Nile founder Karl Sanders contributes vocals to the Nightmare Withdrawals track Atop The Wings Of A Magpie, which saw release in late 2020 as an advance standalone single and now appears on the new record. Impressed by Blindfolded And Led To The Woods' ability to "capture and convey real emotion," Sanders felt Atop The Wings Of A Magpie was, "bursting with feeling and atmosphere [and] a real sense of disorientation, despair, fear of the unknown, and a loss of humanity." Additionally, the track Lucid Visitations features guest vocals from Callum Gay of Spook The Horses.

Nightmare Withdrawals exorcises traumatic emotions in a cathartic eruption of tense, textural, and altogether fearless metal. Blindfolded And Led To The Woods is a crew of passionate musicians determined to capitalize on a decade of hard work and relentless artistic drive.

See a brief teaser for Blindfolded And Led To The Woods' Nightmare Withdrawals RIGHT HERE and view the Zev Deans-directed Atop The Wings Of A Magpie video featuring Karl Sanders of Nile HERE.

Nightmare Withdrawals was recorded at The Sitting Room Studio, mixed by Samuel K Sproull, mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, and completed with cover art by Agreatmass and additional artwork/design by Nina Morice.

Blindfolded And Led To The Woods will independently release Nightmare Withdrawals on LP and digital platforms on Friday, March 26th. Find preorders including merch bundles and more HERE.

Comments

Return to News Archive