WHITE STONES announce new album “Dancing Into Oblivion”, kick off pre-order + release first single and music video “Chain Of Command”
18th June 2021As bassist of prog legends OPETH, Martin Mendez has gained world-wide popularity and now he returns with another virtuous death metal crusher that captures the fear, loss of control and despair of lockdown in eight new tracks. For ‘Dancing Into Oblivion’, his project WHITE STONES goes further down the path of progressive extreme metal with haunting growls, jazz induced intermezzi and an incredible level of technical perfection.
Today, WHITE STONES reveal their first video clip for the song ‘Chain Of Command’. Influenced by John Coltrane and Wilbur Harden, this first single allows multiple genres to co-exist and harmonize with each other while creating a threatening extreme metal atmosphere of fear and isolation – the perfect soundtrack to lockdown.
‘Dancing Into Oblivion’ will be released on CD, Vinyl (clear & black/red marbled) as well as digital.
Pre-order the album here: https://bfan.link/dancing-into-oblivion
Tracklist:
01. La Menace
02. New Age Of Dark
03. Chain Of Command
04. Iron Titans
05. Woven Dream
06. To Lie or to Die
07. Freedom in Captivity
08. AcaciaÂ
After the release of »Kuarahy« concurred with the blast of the worldwide pandemic and all the consequences it has generated, WHITE STONES – MartĂn Mendezâs project (OPETHâs bass player) – are ready to launch their second record.Â
When WHITE STONES released »Kuarahy« they became the first Spanish band signed to Nuclear Blast Records, cementing their first album as an unprecedented milestone. Now, with »Dancing Into Oblivion«, the band returns with a more compact sound, having been hard at work ensuring the utmost attention to every detail for a result that is even better than the first record.
The topics covered on this second album draw on the feelings that MartĂn himself affirms he has lived through during the lockdown imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. âI started it very calmed in March when »Kuarahy« was released and the lockdown started. I wrote the new record and it just flowed so well. Itâs my point of view, of the feelings I had during the lockdown period, in this weird year. I took advantage of the moment and I feel excited about itâ, reveals the musician.
The emotional ups and downs that a situation like this generates are reflected on this record. As MĂ©ndez says âitâs a mix of feelings during the lockdown, feelings that go from fear to uncertainty as well as going through the confusion when you donât know about the future and you feel almost as if time has stopped. Musicians might be the last who will be back to work and we donât have any signs of a sooner return, which makes for a huge uncertainty. I have a family and I have to take care of them. This situation creates a feeling of discomfort which you can feel on the albumâ, he confesses, also adding that âotherwise itâs been nice having so much time at home with the family and those small and peaceful moments are also in the music. Iâve chosen to include some interludes between the songs so there is a higher contrast and it makes it easier to appreciate the different feelings throughoutâ.
The most outstanding musical elements on this new record are the disparate genres that manage to co-exist. There is an element of aggression, that can be seen rearing its head in an instrumental frenzy, as well as soft and delicate intricacies that develop an atmosphere which surrounds the listener. There are distinct dynamics among the songs, with interludes allowing the listening to take a breath and appreciate what theyâre hearing.
Describing the type of music, MartĂn says âitâs difficult to define the style of this album. I donât like to tag the music. This is metal for me. It has elements of my interpretation of death metal but it has other, conscious influences from other genres too. It shows me as musician and displays my music taste within the restlessness of trying to do something differentâ. Whilst explaining this, MĂ©ndez recalls the writing process for this record âThe first one I wrote was âChain Of Commandâ, where I had the idea of writing more daring songs than on the previous record where I restricted myself and didnât want to play anything too technical, I just wanted to create something that was easier on the ear. In this one I wanted to do something slightly more elaborate and technical, musically, to add some colour.Â
The first influence I had for âChain Of Commandâ was from a John Coltrane & Wilbur Harden album, while in âNew Age Of Darkâ the influence came listening to Deicide, so the influences are really quite varied across this recordâ. Something the band were deliberately aiming for on this album was brevity. Vocalist Eloi Boucherie states how he and MĂ©ndez think âitâs better an album you want to listen to again, than a record you desire to finish before it endsâ then âit leaves you wanting for moreâ.
The writing process of »Dancing Into Oblivion« has been pretty similar to the previous »Kuarahy« but with some clear changes. MartĂn composed all of the instrumentals for the album but, as he says, âIâve left sections open to the interpretation of each of the other musicians, both in the drums and in the vocals. Eloi wrote the lyrics this time and we then workshopped them together whilst working out the vocal parts to get the final result in the studioâ.
WHITE STONES once again recorded at Farm Of Sounds Studios (Barcelona), owned by their singer Eloi. They were satisfied with the sound of »Kuarahy« and the experience of the recording of that album and the comfort of making everything with their own tools made it all easier. âEverything has been âhomemadeâ because itâs a way of working and a philosophy I like. You have more control and you can better enforce your ideasâ, MĂ©ndez explains -who also created the cover for »Dancing Into Oblivion« together with Sandra, his partner for many years.
The final mix and mastering of this second album was done by Jaime GĂłmez Arellano at Orgone Studios (UK) because the band were more than satisfied with the work he did on »Kuarahy« and they wanted to repeat that great experience. Eloi, as the singer and also the guy who recorded the music sent to Orgone Studios, acknowledges âthe recording had more experience and a better sound quality because we made better decisions during the pre-production thanks to a higher level of self-awareness of ourselves as a band. Jaime knew us better too, so that simplified the process and in turn helped to make »Dancing Into Oblivion« as good as it can beâ.
The line-up has been enhanced with the participation of the multifaceted Joan Carles MarĂ Tur on drums (who also plays in other bands like FACE THE MAYBE). The guitar solos were the job of Joao Sassetti (who was already a member of the touring line-up of WHITE STONES). Sassetti lives in Portugal and he couldnât be in the studio in Barcelona, so he recorded his solos and digitally sent them over for integration into the final songs. The recording of the instruments has been more organic and as Boucherie says. âThe original sound has been retained as much as posible in each and every elementâ and it has brought a natural/raw touch for »Dancing Into Oblivion« just as the band had hoped and expected.
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MartĂn MĂ©ndez | Bass & Guitars
Joao Sasseti | Guitar solos
Eloi Boucherie | Vocals
Joan Carles MarĂ Tur | Drums
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