BAND OWN MATERIAL
The DAMAGE EP brings The Dead And Living up to date and into an unknown future. After ten years of wallowing in 19th-century decadence, the band takes one giant leap into the future and beyond. Vocalist and songwriter Coroner explains:
“With this release, we wanted to bring the band and its essence into the contemporary. The sort of space-themed EP makes a lot more sense now than we initially thought it would. The infinite dimensions of space and its vast darkness have always been there and always will be. It’s not so much a science fiction theme as a modern take on this insane cosmic thing we’re all part of.
One late night, I saw a film called A Journey to the End of Time by Melodysheep on YouTube. The ending quote leaves you in a lingering state of mind: ‘At the end of the universe, nothing happens, and it keeps not happening, forever.’ Out of that mental state, the new material started taking shape.
The opening track, Damage, leaves a lot of room for interpretation. It isn’t set in an obvious geographical or physical place. It’s more of a timeless journey, as the universe slowly erodes. It has a pretty cool drum beat that defies a few laws of nature, and the production is a lot more modern than anything we’ve done before.
The following track, Magma Heart, brings you closer to home. What the hell is this place we call our home? as the chorus states. It’s not much more than a lump that’s spinning in the dark. And what does that make us? The song builds on an almost black metal lead riff, a common ground for all of us Scandinavian guys in the band. There are some weird notes going on in the chorus that give it a really special vibe.
Demons Till I’m Dead, the most intimate track on the EP, brings us even closer to home. The worldly and somewhat easy song deals with the usual devastations of being a citizen of Earth—nothing more, nothing less, with an ounce of nothingness.
Summarizing the EP, Army of Mankind is set in war-plagued times. However, if you listen carefully, time seems to be in reverse. The song itself isn’t meant to symbolize any specific army or war. It’s just what war feels and sounds like in the universe of The Dead And Living. Offward, Backwards, Halt.”
Photo: Erik Hansen
