Five years after the release of “Marrow”, MADDER MORTEM are back with their brand new album “Old Eyes, New Heart”, which will be released on January 26th via Dark Essence Records. The band has unveiled “The Head That Wears The Crown”, the second single from their upcoming album.
MADDER MORTEM comment on the track: ” ‘The Head That Wears The Crown’ is a typical example of how MADDER MORTEM’s song writing works, combining an intensely melodic, nearly baroque verse with a down-tuned, heavy-handed riff-based refrain very suitable for banging your head. The lyrics deal with how there are some lines that will not be crossed and some things that will not be handed out for free, not even for love.”
It has been five years since MADDER MORTEM released their seventh full-length album “Marrow”, and it has been a long, hard journey, beset by turmoil and heartbreaking loss, which culminated in the death of Jakob, father of the band’s vocalist Agnete and guitarist BP.
Jakob had always been a huge supporter of the band, and his backing was fundamental to the launch of MADDER MORTEM’s career. Being an artist himself, Jakob had worked on two paintings for “Old Eyes, New Heart”, and, thanks to the band’s long-term collaborator artist and video producer Costin Chioreanu, who was able to adapt Jakob’s work and provide additional design, the cover art was completed. Even though Jakob didn’t live to see the finished album, he would have been immensely proud to see his art on the cover, and the album is dedicated to his memory.
“Old Eyes, New Heart” was recorded and produced by BP M. Kirkevaag, and shows MADDER MORTEM’s lineup of Agnete M. Kirkevaag on vocals, BP M. Kirkevaag on guitar & vocals, Anders Langberg on guitars, Tormod L. Moseng on bass and Mads Solås on drums embracing a multitude of directions, spanning from Post Metal heaviness to soft Americana grooves and everything in between.
It is an album full of surprises. Lyrically and musically, “Old Eyes, New Heart” deals with hope, disappointment, and the ambivalence between them. It is music from old hearts and deep roots, with new eyes open to the unlimited possibilities of 12 notes, but always with the desire to write a good, honest song. Which makes it unmistakably MADDER MORTEM.
“Old Eyes, New Heart” track listing:
- Coming From The Dark
- On Guard
- Master Tongue
- The Head That Wears The Crown
- Cold Hard Rain
- Unity
- Towers
- Here And Now
- Things I’ll Never Do
- Long Road
You can listen to “The Head That Wears The Crown” in the following video:
