– July 28th, 2026 –
How To Cast A Shadow Full-Length Out Now On Metal Blade Records!
Photo by Jeremy Saffer
Watch/stream NORTH SEA ECHOES’ “I’ll Leave A Light On” HERE
NORTH SEA ECHOES – featuring progressive metal pioneers singer Ray Alder and guitarist Jim Matheos of Fates Warning – today deliver their video for “I’ll Leave A Light On.” The track appears on the band’s latest studio album, How To Cast A Shadow, out now on Metal Blade Records!
Comments Alder, “‘I’ll Leave a Light On’ is much heavier than anything on [2024’s] Really Good Terrible Things, the first NORTH SEA ECHOES album. It has a darker melancholic feel that fits well on this record. I loosely based the lyrics on a character from my favorite sci-fi series. I won’t say which, but they do use the quote ‘out there in the black.’“
Watch NORTH SEA ECHOES‘ “I’ll Leave A Light On” video HERE.
Watch NORTH SEA ECHOES‘ previously released video for “Enjoy The View” HERE.
On NORTH SEA ECHOES‘ Really Good Terrible Things full-length, Alder and Matheos garnered rave reviews for songs that possessed, “liberating sonic space and emotional vulnerability… from somnambulant electro-fog to gritty, overdriven disquiet, to the quietly devastating (Blabbermouth).” With How To Cast A Shadow, the band’s identity is further expanded upon and explored.
“This record is a bit heavier,” asserts Matheos, “with several more songs featuring real drums, played by Dennis Leeflang. It wasn’t necessarily intentional or planned, just the way things shaped up and how they emerged this time.”
The duo’s shared and separate histories help to forge a fresh creative opus. Alder has been the vocalist and main co-writer for prog metal heroes Fates Warning for 37 years, recording ten albums between 1988 (No Exit) and 2020 (Long Day Good Night). Rounding out his discography are seven albums with Redemption, two solo records, and the band A-Z, which debuted in 2022.
Revered guitarist and producer Matheos is a cofounder of Fates Warning, the lineup debuting with 1984′s Night On Bröcken on Metal Blade. In addition to thirteen albums with Fates Warning, Matheos launched several solo albums, four LPs alongside former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore under the name OSI, and Kings Of Mercia, which launched in 2022.
From the radio-ready rock of “All That Comes After” and the intimate, escalating “A Time Of Innocence And Purpose” to the powerful, timeless ballad “Villains Or Saints,” How To Cast A Shadow cohesively crosses genres and challenges aural preconceptions.
If Really Good Terrible Things kickstarted NORTH SEA ECHOES‘s career with “hovering subtleties, introspective thoughtful reflections” and lyrics with “wisdom and authenticity,” How To Cast A Shadow ups the promise of its predecessor. Provocative words of hope, sorrow and consciousness are paired with Matheos’ equally emotive, varied and deeply moving guitar work.
How To Cast A Shadow is out now on CD and digital formats. Preview/purchase the record at: metalblade.com/northseaechoes
How to Cast a Shadow Track Listing:
01. A Time of Innocence and Purpose
02. Enjoy the View
03. Good Enough
04. I’ll Leave a Light On
05. All Fall Away
06. Revenge
07. Villains or Saints
08. What Is and What Was
09. All That Comes After
10. How to Cast a Shadow
“Evoking the feeling of Geoff Tate returning to his prime and Queensrÿche reconnecting with their greatest strengths, How To Cast A Shadow is nothing short of a catchy, anthemic, and captivating masterpiece that explores the full spectrum of timeless progressive rock… a sheer delight.” – Metal Hammer
“Atmospheric, melancholic, ambient… this is the way NORTH SEA ECHOES navigates through while composing their music. Their sound takes one to a gloomy voyage that deals with the feeling of yearning and nostalgia. Yet, the music is so captivating that you keep playing it on and on.” – New Noise Magazine
“In the wide variety of progressive bands that are out there, this album capitalizes on the simplicity and honesty of music in one of its most organic forms: pure, raw emotion… How To Cast A Shadow is proof that you don’t need overly complex songs for you to feel the music. There’s a shade of melancholy that permeates the album and provides glue that holds the songs together. When it comes to feeling music, the question of ‘how’ doesn’t factor as much as ‘why.’ Explore the ‘why.’” – The Prog Report
“Disappointment or even maintaining the status quo isn’t an option for NORTH SEA ECHOES’ second release. Sign me up for their third album now.” – The Metal Pit
“…the sound of self-rediscovery, where a partnership in its fifth decade is creating a new avenue for its analysis of the human experience.” – Sonic Perspectives
https://northseaechoes.com
https://www.metalblade.com/northseaechoes