New Zealand stoner doom crew Beastwars are coming up on the release of their sixth album, The Ship // The Sea, and they’ve given Decibel not one but two new tastes of the record. Though the new one isn’t out until November 7, you can listen to both “Guardian of Fire” and “The Devil” two weeks early.
On “Guardian of Fire,” Beastwars channel the spirit of bands like Pallbearer, using a heavy low end to balance out the soaring melody in the guitar playing from Christian Pearce. Vocalist Matt Hyde offers up a big vocal performance, matching the scale of his bandmates’ songwriting.
“On ‘Guardian of Fire,’ we wanted to create a towering dark doom metal track,” says drummer Nathan Hickey. “Slow-burning, atmospheric and elemental to its core. Inspired by themes of water and ancient mysticism, the track rolls and churns like a furious ocean. It’s going to be great to see people try and bob their heads to this one—I’m the drummer and people have asked me to explain the time signature and even I don’t quite get it.”
Second new single “The Devil” is equally heavy, driven by a riff that could have come from the Queens of the Stone Age playbook, giving Hyde a chance to exercise a more feral vocal style.
“With ‘The Devil’ is a heavy, hypnotic track musically inspired by Finnish psychedelic black metal band Oranssi Pazuzu but with our own Beastwars spin,” Hyde says. “Lyrically the song explores how mainstream media distorts reality. Inspired by global protests and the rising disconnect between lived reality and reported narratives, it’s a challenge to the listener to question who controls the story.”
Check ’em both out below, then head to their Bandcamp to hear two other advance tracks. The Ship // The Sea is out independently on November 7.
The Ship // The Sea by BEASTWARS
The post Track Premieres: Beastwars – ‘Guardian of Fire’ & ‘The Devil’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.