ABBATH Premieres New Album Title Track For "Dread Reaver"
By
Larry Petro,
News Monkey
Monday, February 7, 2022 @ 12:37 AM
Album Out March 25th
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Norwegian metal legend ABBATH will drop its third full-length album, Dread Reaver, on March 25 via Season of Mist! The band is now premiering the title track, which can be heard BELOW.
Pre-orders for Dread Reaver are available in the Season of Mist shop. Pre-save the album on streaming services.
The album artwork for Dread Reaver, which was created by Bjørn Stian Bjoarvik, can be found below along with the tracklist.
Tracklist:
"Acid Haze"
"Scarred Core"
"Dream Cull"
"Myrmidon"
"The Deep Unbound"
"Septentrion"
"Trapped Under Ice"
"The Book of Breath"
"Dread Reaver"
"Make My Day"
Powered by Abbath’s creative musical imagination, Dread Reaver runs riotously out of the gate. The album’s edifice affords tracks like “Acid Haze”, “Scarred Core”, “The Deep Unbound” and the album’s closing title track ample room to champion the extremes of black metal, heavy metal, and hard rock. While there are nods to NWOBHM greats, thrash metal’s luminaries, and black metal icons, Dread Reaver is unmistakably Abbath. There is no other fingerprint. Paired with thought-provoking lyrics based on the historical figure of Othryades, Abbath’s new album not only shouts exultant but reads like an ancient pyrrhic tale steeped in violence, sorrow, and grit. The idea of a Dread Reaver—a fearless duelist—can also be read as a metaphor for life’s actions and subsequent struggles. Be warned: Dread Reaver is Abbath at his most menacing and accomplished.
Dread Reaver was produced by Endre Kirkesola, Abbath, and Dag Erik Nygaard at Dub Studio in Kristiansand and Bergen Lydstudio, respectively. Kirkesola and Nygaard also engineered. Mixing was performed by Abbath and Kirkesola, while the mastering was done by maestro Maor Appelbaum (FAITH NO MORE, ROB HALFORD) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in Los Angeles. The goal was to field a storming production that sat firmly at the crossroads of Abbath’s heroes KISS, MOTORHEAD, MANOWAR, and BATHORY. From the anthemic thrust of opener “Acid Haze” and the epic pound of “Dream Cull” to the rampaging “The Book of Breath” and the wicked cover of METALLICA’s “Trapped Under Ice”, Dread Reaver sounds as massive as Norwegian mountain and as fiery as the depths of Hell. Truly, the recording lineup of Abbath (guitar, bass, vocals), Ukri Suvilehto (drums), Ole André Farstad (guitars), and Mia Wallace (bass) found their sonic muse.
Abbath and Season of Mist will release Dread Reaver on February 25th, 2022. The album features a Bjørn Stian Bjoarvik (IMMORTAL) cover and will be supported by singles “Dream Cull”, “Dread Reaver” and “The Book of Breath”. Of course, it’ll all be powered by Abbath’s wry, larger-than-life persona. If “Ace of Spades” catapulted MOTORHEAD to fame and notoriety, then Dread Reaver will find Abbath atop extreme metal’s gigantic heap, the spoils of icy blood, scorching sweat, and steely tears at his feet. As “Myrmidon” states, “Die with a smile, stare glassy-eyed up / At boiling skies! / Valkyries descend to gore-caked fen / Fallen warriors arise!” Lightning strikes thrice with Abbath’s incredible Dread Reaver!