Australian band A Somerset Parade offer up an onslaught of heavy guitars and hook-laden choruses in an intriguing industrial metal meets synthwave sound they describe as “dark, visceral and emotional.”
The Brisbane quintet originally formed in 2015 with bassist Brad James one of the founding members. Vocalist Dan Cornish and guitarist Andrew Nolan joined soon after to complete what became the band’s first album Against All Odds, released in 2017. Guitarist Mitch Matheson joined for a run of shows supporting the album and ended up staying on, and the lineup was completed by drummer Kurt Winter, who officially joined this year after filling in on and off for a long time.
They’ve since been busy crafting, experimenting and evolving their sound and songwriting process, resulting in what they describe as “a balance of heavy and melodic with a dash of synthwave undertones.”
Our latest taste of this is the band’s first release in two years and only their third single in six years since their debut album. But Blood Calls For Blood, which was released at the end of last month, has been well worth the wait. It opens up with a little synth sound that gives way to a crushing riff and intense drums in a lively intro. That drops into a mellow opening verse with laid-back vocals supported by light instrumentals. A menacing riff jumps in as the vocals intensify before big bouncy guitar chords support screamed vocals.
Another light verse builds in intensity, before a second chorus drops into a lone synth sound with occasional drum rolls. A big chunky riff joins in alongside the synth then a chugging guitar tees up a huge conclusion with big screamed vocals.
On the single, the band said: “So far the response to Blood Calls For Blood has been quite positive. We think it gave people who enjoyed our other singles, Clementine and Alpha, something to whet their appetite. Anyone that hasn’t listened to Blood Calls For Blood yet should expect something that is equal parts brutal and beautiful.” Check it out in the video here:
That comes before the band’s upcoming second album CARCOSA, which was inspired by Robert W. Chambers’ 1985 cult classic book of short horror stories The King In Yellow. Over four years in development, the album has seen numerous rewrites and promises a sonic masterpiece inspired by adversity, personal loss and a pandemic.
On the album, the band told us: “We are extremely excited for people to hear CARCOSA. It is something that we have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into over the last few years and we couldn’t be happier with the result. We were extremely fortunate to find in Carlo and Wormholedeath, not only people who were extremely talented in what they do, but who also believed in us and wanted to be a part of bringing CARCOSA to the world.
“As far as a release date goes, the only thing we can tell you is that CARCOSA will be available early next year. People should expect a very new A Somerset Parade, especially in comparison with our first album. Everything from the writing to the song craft to the musicianship has undergone an evolution.”
To get more of a taste for the A Somerset Parade sound, we firmly recommend checking out their previous singles Alpha, which you can watch below, and Clementine. There’s also their excellent debut album, from which we particularly enjoy tracks like Ruins Of This Empire and Information Age. But we’re very much excited about what’s coming our way with their follow-up album – which, based on the evidence of Blood Calls For Blood, we’re expecting to be a lot heavier and darker.
A Somerset Parade’s members have been influenced by bands like Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park and Sleep Token. And on what inspires them to write music, they tell us: “When it comes to writing music it’s something that we have to do and couldn’t really live without. As far as key themes go we try to stick to things that anyone can or has experienced in their life so that our music has that emotional hook.
“Lyrically, CARCOSA is a very dark album stemming from things like personal tragedies we’ve experienced, the pandemic and the state of the world in general. Within the album, you have something that is equal parts nihilistic and in some ways also hopeful and determined. As far as Blood Calls For Blood is concerned, it was inspired by the true story of a gladiator who earned his freedom a number of times but rejected it and was determined to die in front of the crowd at the Colosseum.”
A Somerset Parade are busy preparing for the release of CARCOSA, with another single or two potentially coming before its release. They’re also working on a new set list and show, so expect to see them stages soon.
And the band adds: “We would like people to know that we are always grateful when they take the time to listen to, or share our music, watch a film clip or just become a part of our world in general. We look forward to bringing you all CARCOSA and taking you on a journey into the dark world that it inhabits.”
You can follow A Somerset Parade on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. And check out more new bands through their label WormHoleDeath Records.
Listen to A Somerset Parade on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core and GigRadar Metal
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