Self-described sludge-corrupted death metal band Glacial Tomb proudly announce their singing to Prosthetic Records. Along with the signing, they also announce their upcoming sophomore album. The album will be titled Lightless Expanse, and it will be released on September 20. The band have also released the lead single from the album. Listen to the lead single “Abyssal Host” here.
Vocalist/guitarist Ben Hutcherson shares his thoughts about the album:
“Three and a half years. From the day that Dave (Small, bass) shared the riffs that eventually became Worldsflesh to the evening we approved the final mixes of Lightless Expanse with Arthur Rizik last fall, three and a half years passed. In that time, our connection to–and appreciation of–this music grew stronger as the world around us continued to collapse. Despite the inescapable reminders of our proximity to the apocalypse, we also experienced moments of absolute joy in those years. Those moments of light proved to be just as essential to creating this record as the feelings of dread and anger, though the influence of the latter is certainly more immediate.
I began writing the lyrics without a clear sense of the lyrical heart of these songs; I only knew that I wanted to reflect on the nature of suffering–the suffering guaranteed to each of us from the moment we draw our first breath. As the music became more complex and as the myriad emotions we sought to invoke became more visceral, I pushed myself to write a story–or, to be more precise, a story of and about stories–that was not simply a lamentation of the horrors of consciousness. I wanted the lyrics to reflect the journey that the three of us have been on, both individually and collectively, as we have grown to better understand the shape of this world and our place(s) in it. I wanted to see the world through the eyes of someone or something that would see this planet for what it is. I knew that it wouldn’t be enough to just be bitter about the pain of existence; I needed to articulate just how futile humanity’s aspirations for salvation truly are and, hopefully, to find some sort of serenity in that understanding.”
He also talks about the new song “Abyssal Host”:
“Abyssal Host is a d-beat rager about cosmic forces beyond humankind’s comprehension. One of the central themes of the record is that we, as a species, are continually undone by our hubris yet we seem unwilling and/or unable to acknowledge the futility of control in all its forms. There is serenity in surrender, yet our species seemingly cannot help but fetishize martyrdom. What would happen if a person who doesn’t want any part of this world became host to something so grand, so divine, that they became an unwitting martyr?”
Lightless Expanse Tracklist:
1. Stygian Abattoir
2. Voidwomb
3. Enshrined in Concrete
4. Abyssal Host
5. Sanctuary
6. Seraphic Mutilation
7. Worldsflesh
8. Wound of Existence
9. The Lightless Expanse
Presave the album here.
Glacial Tomb:
Ben Hutcherson – Guitar/Vocals
Mike Salazar – Drums
David Small – Bass
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Photo courtesy of Frank Guerra
