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Black Royal Stream Debut Album Lightbringer in Full

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Finnish sludge extremists Black Royal release their debut full-length, Lightbringer, on March 9 via Suicide Records. There are a couple different ways one might approach the Tampere four-piece’s rather formidable 10-track/44-minute salvo. It’s either a bludgeoning assault on the auditory senses, laced with underlying heft of groove and tone, but filled with a brutality that reveals itself as a core element whether a given song is fast or slow, rolling or driving, riff-based like “Salvation” or something more along the lines of the half-speed grindcore of opener “Cryo-Volanic” and the punkish “Denial.” Or, it’s an anti-religious treatise that incorporates elements of science fiction, Satanic philosophy, narrative craft and pointed a anti-Christianity doctrine. The truth of Lightbringer, however, is that it’s both.

Oh, to be sure it’s extreme. The lineup of vocalist Riku, bassist/backing vocalist Pete, guitarist/backing vocalist Toni and drummer Jukka meld sludge, hardcore punk, death metal, and their thematic foundation to tell the story of a world losing its religion and ultimately coming out better for that painful process. The lyric sheet comes with footnotes, if that tells you anything, and for songs like “Self-Worship,” which is one of several on Lightbringer to bask in the hypocrisy of faith, they’re actually pretty helpful in tying together the point of view from which the album is working, which is no less cohesive, fortunately, than the band’s sound itself, which, while varied, is never entirely unhinged, as the use of samples in “Pentagram Doctrine” or the quiet stretches of acoustic guitar (courtesy of Pete) and atmospherics in “Dying Star” showcase. In the title-track itself, which also opens side B, the chorus seems to offer a summary of the arc of the story itself: “The Bringer of Light has returned to settle the score/And fight for the lost strength within us all/Man had a chance to unite the world/But their god failed them all.”

Anti-religious perspective within extreme music of nearly all stripes is hardly anything new, but Black Royal are distinguished by just how much they’re willing to make it the core of their debut album’s message. As arrangements gradually flesh out across side B’s “Lightbringer,” keyboard-laced highlight “The Chosen” — the title referring to those whose duty it is to guide the world into this dogma-free next phase of its evolution — “Dying Star” and the slow-unfolding “New World Order” before “Ou[t]roboros” leads the way to the finish with a serenity percussion and far back keys and acoustic guitar, Lightbringer remains vibrant and vehement for the duration. The earlier raw punishment of “Cryo-Volcanic,” “Self-Worship,” “Salvation” and even “Denial” is more straightforward by comparison, with “Pentagram Doctrine” closing side A and foreshadowing some of the expansion to follow, but Lightbringer stays united across its span in its growls and screams no less than in its thematic foundation and aggressive attitude.

The final footnote? Well, it isn’t actually spoken on the song, but on the lyric sheet under “Ou[t]roboros” it quotes Aleister Crowley saying, “These are fools that men adore; both their Gods and their men are fools.” Fair enough. It’s worth noting though that for all the attention paid to messaging across Lightbringer, there’s nothing lacking for songwriting, arrangement, production or execution. The bass tone and chorus of “Lightbringer” both make the titular cut a standout, and in the spirit of many fine growlers before him, Riku seems to have an unyielding supply of vitriol from which to work. While definitely of a style, “The Chosen” hints at progressive elements that could very well come into play more on subsequent releases, and even the most familiar aspects of the album in general are brought to bear with a drive toward individualized, crisp presentation. That would seem to make the thesis all the more pointed, but whether or not a given listener chooses to engage with Black Royal on that level or simply to take it on as a dense slab of aural castigation with a horrid album cover is entirely up to them. In either case, Lightbringer delivers a trouncing worthy of its critique.

I have the pleasure today of premiering Lightbringer for your streaming pleasure. Please find it below, followed by more info from the PR wire, and enjoy:

Hailing from Tampere, Finland, BLACK ROYAL was forged in 2013. The quartet’s music combines modern sludge with ’90s death metal, classic seventies influences, epic choruses and unconventional arrangements, resulting in a distinctly alluring sound often and accurately described as “death blues.” Inspired by beer and occult teachings, their music is laced with distortion and growls proclaiming various themes from free thought to the perils of organized religion.

Following two critically-lauded EPs — The Summoning Pt.1 and Pt.2, released in 2015 and 2016 respectively — the band was signed by Swedish-Finnish label Suicide Records and unleashed the Dying Star seven-inch/digital single, serving as the first taste of BLACK ROYAL’s imminent Lightbringer debut, coming at you this Spring.

BLACK ROYAL:
Jukka – drums, percussion
Pete – bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Riku – vocals
Toni – guitars, backing vocals

Black Royal website

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Black Royal on Instagram

Suicide Records website

Suicide Records on Thee Facebooks

Suicide Records on Bandcamp

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