Adelaide extreme metal outfit Freedom Of Fear have not only delivered a scintillating new album in the form of Carpathia, they have also raised the bar considerably when it comes to local releases such as this.
A complete package mixing tech-death, black metal, goth and melodic death metal influences, Carpathia is more than a sophomore album, it is a statement of intent from the rising Australian metal band and a benchmark for all future releases in this country.
HEAVY caught up with guitarist Matt Walters to discuss Carpathia and more.
"I'm pretty relieved to finally release it," he smiled, "because it's been delayed for over a year - for obvious reasons. It's a good feeling to release music and get it off your chest."
Musically, Carpathia is an amalgamation of many different styles of metal, but done so with enough originality to stamp Freedom Of Fears authenticity all over it.
"When I'm sitting down to write, I'm not necessarily thinking that I want to go for a certain sound," he mused. "It sort of just starts taking shape. With this album there's still the tech death and melodic death metal stuff that people will be used to, but there's a bit more atmosphere added from synth players and things like that, and a bit more black metal tinge on things. So far it's been called mellow death and it's been called symphonic black metal (laughs). There's a bit of a weird combo of a few styles. We like playing our technical stuff, but there's definitely stuff that's a bit more catchy on there as well or going for a bit of atmosphere. People can expect a bit of a mixture."
In the full interview, Matt talks more about bridging the gap between old school sophistication and modern punch, having German metal legend Hannes Grossman on drums, finding the right person to mix an album like this, how the album differs to the band's 2019 debut Nocturnal Gates, the blending of styles and how it works, Freedom Of Fear's upcoming tour and this weekends home launch party and more.