Portugal’s DOWNFALL OF MANKIND are a Modern Metal act that incorporates a myriad of eclectic influences to create a propulsive metallic beast. Their brand new track, “Purgatory”, perfectly showcases the new, unique dynamics added into their song-writing, which results in an aggressive, yet memorable banger. This song also marks the start of the band’s new partnership with Seek and Strike, leading into the release of their new, full-length album, “Purgatory”, which is set for a 14th June release.
The album was co-produced by Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM) with Heafy also performing on “Purgatory” as well as making an appearance in the video.
Producer Matt Heafy commented: “DOWNFALL OF MANKIND will be juggernauts of the heavy music scene in no time. Mark my words.”
DOWNFALL OF MANKIND commented: “Excitement isn’t enough to describe how big signing this deal was for us. The fact that our work is seen and recognized by Seek & Strike is a huge step in our career. Their roster is nothing short of incredible and we were very interested from the way they approached us and set goals. They really put the right mindset into what we want to achieve and we as a band feel extremely supported.
We felt that ‘Purgatory’ was a perfect introduction to the new album, due to the fact that it features most of the new elements added to our sound (clean vocals, more melody, hooks, etc), while keeping the same brutality and rawness that our fans are accustomed to hearing. This song is about paranoia. How the voices inside your head won’t stop and how it consumes you from the inside in a very brutal way. You will find that the main theme of this album, lyrics wise, is all connected to aspects of the overall human psyche. It’s something that all of us are interested in and I believe the lyrics were written perfectly to translate that. The video’s theme is based around frenetic energy and how people harness/handle it.
We already consider our music very interesting and diverse, but we wanted to push ourselves even more this time. That’s how it should be. We are all very creative and have wide varieties of influences. The writing process of this new record also had a very strong influence from Matthew Heafy, bringing different elements to the table, such as incorporating different instruments from around the world. It really brought a different essence into this record and we couldn’t be more excited for the world to hear it.
Our sound is always evolving and we strive to keep it diverse and exciting. We have groove, lots of melody, heavy breakdowns, gnarly vocals, complex song structures, orchestral sections, etc. What sets us apart from the rest is the fact that we are able to take that bevy of influences and make it absolutely beautiful and unique, without being overwhelming. There’s a moment for everything, so it’s not an amalgamation of things. Think of it as a 10K puzzle. Scrambled it might not make sense, but when you assemble everything and see the picture as it is intended, it’s just amazing and satisfying. We’re not reinventing the genre, but we certainly think we offer something different and our sound will resonate across the world!”
“Purgatory” track listing:
- Umbral
- Purgatory
- God Of Nothingness
- Weard Ov Hell
- Self Loathing
- Down The Barrel Of Madness
- As Much As Your Sorrow
- Blinding Rage
- The Cease
- Consumed By Strife
You can watch the official video for “Purgatory” below:
