Post-black metal trio, Harboured, in spite of the spelling of their moniker, are not from England, Canada or Down Under, places where they like to put a “u” where we Americans don’t. Nope, these are Denverites, and in fact are well established in the Denver metal scene as current members of Allegaeon and Oak, Ash & Thorn. Harboured—Michael Stancel (guitars/synths/vocals), Brandon Michael (bass), Cierra White (drums)—however, offer a different extreme metal take than those bands, as evidenced by the potent mix of post-black metal fury and heavy ’90s alt rock emotional passion on new single, “Dead Ringer,” from their upcoming second full-length, We’re Only the Love That We Lead.
We’re Only the Love That We Lead was produced by by Scott Evans, Harboured and Benjamin Kaplan. Recording and mixing was done by Scott Evans and mastering was done by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. It’s set for release on May 29 via Lost Future Records. Place your preorder here.
Guitarist/vocalist Michael Stancel described the creation of the new album as such:
“When writing for this record, we really wanted to make something that felt more personal and emotionally attached to us, but didn’t want it to be too ‘heart on your sleeve,’ ‘oversharing’ or ‘whiny ex-boyfriendcore.’ It took me a really long time to figure out how to disguise these things in a way that felt more unique or less obvious. I’ve always had an interest in engineering and infrastructure, specifically the failures of both, and found I could use these failures as metaphors for the failures we have as people, whether that’s in our personal lives, our relationships, or our morality. I felt writing in that way would let me express myself from the heart, without it just being a bunch of songs about people and relationships, like a million records before.
We also wanted to give our sound a clearer direction. Our first release was more on this darker /’blackgaze-y’ sound, and it was great, but I found that this one needed to be something that brings more mood and more depth. I really leaned into my love of alternative/indie bands and brought in elements of that genre into the sound. Often thinking in directions like What would Pheobe Bridgers do if she listened to Failure and Alcest? and trying to make something that I love and maybe other people who don’t listen to a ton of heavy music might love too. I definitely feel we’ve made something that we’re all really proud of and that people will really enjoy and hopefully resonate with.”
We’re Only The Love That We Lead by Harboured
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