METALITE release their new album ‘Expedition One’ on 19th Jan 2024, out on AFM Records.

In order to translate the vision of a thoroughly impressive concept album into reality, a band requires not only an exciting theme and a number of haunting songs but also plenty of musical experience and skill. All these criteria apply to ‘Expedition One’, the latest studio album by Swedish melodic power metal act Metalite. ‘Expedition One’ inspires with a wide range of diverse compositions and an intelligent sci-fi story that couldn’t be more topical. In addition, their fourth release manifests the musicians’ amazing artistic development. “In the past four or five years, our sound has evolved considerably,” explains Edwin Premberg, mastermind and producer of the band, which was founded in 2015. “The quality of our production in particular has progressed considerably since our debut.”

‘Expedition One’ has been scheduled for release on AFM/Soulfood on 19 January 2024. In addition to the lead singles ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Take My Hand’, which are already available, there will be the four singles ‘Disciples Of The Stars’ (23 June 2023), ‘Blazing Skies’ (18 August 2023), ‘New Generation’ (6 October 2023) and ‘Aurora’ (24 November 2023). 

The theme of ‘Expedition One’ is a fictitious story about life on our planet in the year 2055. The ‘transparent citizen’ has become a bitter reality, with physical and mental health conditions increasingly determining our lives. Headed by five ‘commanders’, a renegade team consisting of former intelligence service and military personnel plus breakaway tech company executives is planning a survival expedition to distant planets. Their mission: to transport mankind from our ruined planet to a new world, in the hope that new life will develop. A fantastic adventure begins, with lots of unexpected experiences and a completely new understanding of the mysteries of life. Premberg: “It’s about human evolution and the fact that we permanently go for the easy way out, even when it’s not our best option.” 

This visionary sci-fi story is told over sixteen multi-faceted songs that combine the quintet’s many strengths: powerful and at the same time delicate guitar riffs and solos, anthemic melodies courtesy of vocalist Erica Ohlsson, driving rhythms and cleverly positioned keyboard parts. The range of songs includes typical Metalite tracks such as ‘Blazing Skies’, ‘Aurora’ and ‘Free’ with their tight arrangements, as well as unexpected numbers such as ‘Sanctum Of Light’, ‘Outer Worlds’ and ‘Paradise’, which are likely to surprise the band’s fans. And of course, there’s ‘Utopia’, the very first instrumental in Metalite’s history. 
Premberg: “Fans have frequently told us that our songs have a cinematic quality, so we wanted to write a story that would forge an arch between ‘Expedition One’ and our previous albums ‘Heroes In Time’ (2017), ‘Biomechanicals’ (2019) and ‘A Virtual World’ (2021) to tie them all together. At first this was a little tricky, but since we’ve agreed on the gist of the story, we’ve been really happy with the result.”

In addition to band members Erica Ohlsson, Edwin Premberg, Robert Örnesved (guitar), Robert Majd (bass) and Lea Larsson (drums), sound engineer Jacob Hansen, who mixed and mastered the material at his Hansen Studios, has been instrumental in the final result. And so all gear wheels mesh on ‘Expedition One’, taking its listeners on a captivating journey from the first to the very last note.

Erica Ohlsson (Vocals), Edwin Premberg (Guitar), Robert Örnesved (Guitar), Lea Larsson (Drums), Robert Majd (Bass)

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