Though they formed during the first trying year of the pandemic, BLACK LAVA erupted on their scorching debut. Now, just two years later, these Aussies are roaring back with more Blackened Heavy Metal on their sophomore album, “The Savage Winds To Wisdom”, which will be released on July 12th through Season Of Mist. The band has unveiled a dark, devilish music video for lead single, “Ironclad Sarcophagus”.
BLACK LAVA stir from the same cauldron of influences on “The Savage Winds To Wisdom”. Eerie, dissonant countermelodies and a hex of progressive rhythms boil together with sludgy, old-school Death Metal, spilling over into medieval fantasies. Carved from a harem of blast beats and one bone-crushing riff, “Ironclad Sarcophagus” conjures an ancient sorcerer.
“I try and stay true to the spirit of metal”, Rob Watkins says about crafting lyrics. “For this song, I pictured this ancient wizard sending out evil vibes into the world in hopes of tricking someone into opening his coffin.”
But while still crushingly heavy, BLACK LAVA took more time to carefully conduct the mystical atmosphere that soaks through “The Savage Winds To Wisdom”. “Ironclad Sarcophagus” creaks open with foggy synths and slithering cymbals before a nasty groove drags it screaming from the grave. “The crypt echoes the ancient hymns“, Watkins warns before summoning another hellish growl.
“We took greater care in composing ‘The Savage Winds to Wisdom’ “, says guitarist Ben Boyle. “This album has a real sense of balance that lends to repeat listens, while still staying true to what we set out to do: create heavy but anthemic tunes that tell a powerful story”.
The video for “Ironclad Sarcophagus” also has more layers than meets the eye. What appears to be another customarily Satanic metal video turns on a knife’s edge into something even more bloody and sinister.
“Witness the damnation of all that remains unholy”, Watkins warns of the video. “Resurrected only to reap the taste of eternal sleep in the cold, absent black of an ironclad Sarcophagus. Hear the tortured whispers of perdition summon cries of triumph from the breast of the usurp, driven by lust for wicked power. A tale of avarice and death played out to the annihilating tones of Blackened Metal antagonists BLACK LAVA”.
The video for “Ironclad Sarcophagus” was filmed, directed and edited by Colin Jeffs. It was produced by Black Lava. The story was written by Ryan Pett.
“The Savage Winds To Wisdom” track listing:
- Colour of Death
- Dark Legacy
- Wrapped in Filth
- Unsheathing Nightmares
- Summoning Shadows
- Ironclad Sarcophagus
- Pagan Dust
- Sanguis Lupus
- The Savage Winds to Wisdom
You can watch the official music video for “Ironclad Sarcophagus” below:
