Australia’s Symhonic Metal act VICTORIA K, has released its new sophomore album “Kore” via Rockshots Records. To celebrate the release, the band unveiled an official lyric video for “Pomegranate“, which was the first song that was developed for the album.
The band explains the track: “Being the first song we wrote for the record, the whole album’s sound ended up being based off this one song. Certain parts of this song take reference again from old ethnic folk sounds and scales. We wanted to incorporate ethnic instruments such as the hammered dulcimer and touberleki, (the Greek hand drum), both these sounds directly coming from Victoria Knights upbringing, we are really proud to incorporate this old and ethnic culture into our music in order to create a new sonic experience. The section of the tale that this song derives from the part of the story where Persephone eats the six pomegranate seeds, ultimately keeping her trapped in Hades for 6 months each year. We wanted to capture the feeling and emotions that come from this part of the story through the sound and lyrics. The feeling of being utterly, trapped, lost and in a state of desperation. One thing that we believe makes this song a point of difference from the rest of the album is the monologue in the song, which is taken directly from the original ancient Greek text (Homeric Hymn to Demeter) that tells this part of the story. We wanted to add a piece of authentic history to the record!“
“Kore” explores modern-day issues through the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (the story of Persephone). Victoria K conceptualized the idea for the album with her producer Lee Bradshaw and then spent many months researching and analyzing the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, even meeting with experts of the Homeric Hymns from Greece. The story was then broken up into its different parts where Victoria Knight wrote the lyrics and developed the melodies for each section of the tale, exploring the myth from a modern perspective.
The tracks were written specifically to encapsulate the various sections of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and tell the story chronologically through each song and the music grows in intensity throughout the record capturing the emotional state of Persephone and other characters as the story progresses.
The various instruments on “Kore” were then written by Victoria around the lyrics and further enhanced and developed through the production process. Lee Bradshaw then finalized the songs by writing orchestral scores for each song, which were recorded live in Europe, before the final mixing and mastering.
“We wanted to take a new approach with this record and to grow our sound and bring something new to VICTORIA K. Incorporating sounds from our vocalist’s ethnic culture and heritage is something we are so extremely proud of! A concept album is something we really wanted to explore, and we are so excited to bring you this ancient story and create a sonic experience and journey for all our listeners. We cannot wait to share this new stage of VICTORIA K!”
“Kore” track listing:
- Prologue (instrumental)
- Raptum
- Mother’s Garden
- The Child
- Persephone
- A Divine Revelation
- Tower
- Blasphemia
- Pomegranate
- The Afterlife
- Epilogue
You can watch the official lyric video for “Pomegranate“ below:
