On November 15th the Quebec-based melodic symphonic metal band Trollwar will release their fifth record, an EP named Tales from the Frozen Wastes. It doesn’t take much guesswork to assert that the EP’s cover art will seize the attention of listeners, even those who haven’t yet encountered Trollwar‘s previous releases. In addition to depicting a fantastic setting it also connects to the album’s music.
As Trollwar have explained (and as you can see): “The artwork represents the journey to the underworld, with a desolate land, ruled by a higher force, where darkness looms over all. Yet still, through this evil sky, light can be seen piercing the night…. This visual representation perfectly captures the essence of Trollwar’s music – epic and hopeful, yet dark and malicious.”
You will have a good chance to investigate these claims today through our premiere of a song from the new album named “Bane of the Underworld“.
Photo Credit – STVFX Stephan Tremblay
Trollwar tell us: “‘Bane of the Underworld‘ is a song about warriors sending their foes to their end. Thus being sent to the underworld. This song’s lyrics were written while reading The Odyssey so it might have a touch of Greek myths here and there.”
As for the music, it’s an experience of many facets unfolding on a grand scale — indeed “epic and hopeful, yet dark and malicious”.
Trollwar waste no time lighting a fire under the listener with blazing and darting riffage, booming and battering drums, soaring symphonics, savage snarls, and heroic choral singing.
But a finger-tapped guitar also introduces magically swirling melodies; grim vibrating fretwork and heavily jolting grooves throw us into fierce combat; and rippling keyboard tones add to the song’s fantastical glories. The band build toward an extravagant finale, hard-hitting and sky-flying, entirely in keeping with the song’s overarching mythic aura.
We’ll add these comments from Trollwar about the near-25-minute EP as a whole, with more details to follow below:
We think our album could really be described as a renewal. A renewal of our music and a new maturity for our music. We do think that you can hear it through our songs in this release. “The Unseen One” and “In the Fields of Frost” are both great songs that we wrote a couple of years ago, while “Bane of the Underworld” and “The Offering” are pretty much the new Trollwar that you should expect going forward. These two songs show a clear upgrade of how we write our music.
“Tales from the Frozen Wastes promises to be Trollwar’s most complex and complete release to date, showcasing the band’s evolution towards a more melodic and symphonic sound while incorporating progressive elements. The EP features five tracks, including a prologue, that will transport listeners into a darker dimension ruled by shadows and supreme deities.
EP BAND LINEUP:
Steeve Jobin-Fortin (guitar)
Mathieu Chauvette (guitar)
Yanick Tremblay (drums)
Keven Villeneuve (bass)
Jonathan Mathieu (Orchestration/Keyboard)
Simon-Pierre Fortin-Leclerc (vocals)
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Veli-Matti Kananen (Kalmah) – Keyboard Solo on “The Unseen One”
Mattias Sippola (Atavistia) – Clean Vocal/Choir on “The Offering”
Tales from the Frozen Wastes was mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy). The cover artwork was created by Artem Demura. The album comes recommended for fans of Wintersun, Ensiferum, and Amon Amarth.
The EP will be available in both physical and digital editions on November 15th, at the locations linked below. And we’ve also included pre-save links:
DIGITAL:
https://trollwar.bandcamp.com/
PHYSICAL:
https://trollwar.bigcartel.com/
SINGLE PRE-SAVE:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/trollwar/bane-of-the-underworld
ALBUM PRE-SAVE:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/trollwar/tales-from-the-frozen-wastes
MORE TROLLWAR LINKS:
https://trollwar.wixsite.com/trollwar
https://www.facebook.com/Trollwar
https://www.instagram.com/trollwarmetal/