LORD DYING: Portland Progressive Sludge Metal Conjurors Unveil “The Endless Road Home” Video

Clandestine Transcendence Full-Length To See Release This January Via MNRK Heavy

Photo by Neil DaCosta

Story: Ralph Greco, Jr.

Portland progressive sludge metal conjurors LORD DYING are pleased to unveil their haunting new animated video for “The Endless Road Home,” the closing track of their long-awaited new studio album, Clandestine Transcendence.

From the earliest rumblings of their debut demo and self-titled EP (both issued in 2011), through the piledriving force of 2013’s Summon The Faithless and devastating despair of 2015’s Poisoned Altars, LORD DYING has composed masterfully melancholic music for the misanthropic, with grit and grime.

In 2019, the band delivered Mysterium Tremendum. Kerrang! declared the record a “prog-metal masterpiece,” Chicago Reader crowned it, “a beautiful meditation on tragedy,” while Metal Injection noted, “The diversity and alteration of LORD DYING’s approach are at a high-water mark.” The heady and adventurous existential reflection on death of that record served as the impetus to a trilogy, and that story continues in 2023 with an increasingly ambitious follow-up, Clandestine Transcendence.

On Clandestine Transcendence, LORD DYING cofounders Erik Olson (guitar, vocals) and Chris Evans (guitar) are joined by Alyssa Mocere (former bassist for Eight Bells) and Kevin Swartz (current drummer of Tithe). Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou (High On Fire, Code Orange, Kvelertak) at his God City Studios, the twelve-track opus steps even further into the great unknown, filled with riffs and vibes.

Mysterium Tremendum – Latin for “awe-inspiring mystery” or “terrible mystery” depending on one’s view of existence – began a narrative centered on a central character the band calls The Dreamer, a conceptual theme that drove expansive, sometimes monstrous, and even plaintive and vulnerable music. Olson describes The Dreamer as an immortal being who wants to die. On Clandestine Transcendence, he gets that wish.

Of “The Endless Road Home,” Olson notes, “This song is dedicated to all the road dogs, travelers, bands, crew, people that make tours happen, people that go to shows and general rabble rousers. We salute you.”

Watch the band’s previously released video for first single, “I AM NOTHING, I AM EVERYTHING,” HERE.

Clandestine Transcendence is a wholly immersive listen. Tension, drama, and atmosphere abound all over songs like “The Universe Is Weeping” and “Unto Becoming.” The massive scope and melodic vocals found on album three expand further on Clandestine Transcendence. Sharpened songwriting, emphasizing hooks, helps push both extremes of the band beyond prior limits. Simply put, the softer side is even dreamier; the heavy side is twice as brutal.

Clandestine Transcendence will be released on January 19th, 2024 via MNRK Heavy on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION.

 

Clandestine Transcendence Track Listing:

1. The Universe Is Weeping

2. I AM NOTHING, I AM EVERYTHING

3. Unto Becoming

4. Final Push Into The Sun

5. Dancing On The Emptiness

6. Facing The Incomprehensible

7. A Brief Return To Physical Form

8. A Bond Broken By Death

9. Break In The Clouds (In The Darkness Of Our Minds)

10. Soul Metamorphosis

11. Swimming In The Absence

12. The Endless Road Home

 

LORD DYING:

Erik Olson – vocals/guitar

Chris Evans – guitar

Alyssa Maucere – bass/vocals

Kevin Swartz – drums

For LORD DYING coverage inquiries contact liz@earsplitcompound.com.

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Clandestine Transcendence Cover Art

Ralph Greco, Jr. is the devilishly clever nom de plume of professional writer/musician Ralph Greco who lives in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. He is also a podcast co-host, but as everyone has a podcast these days, this fact is of very little consequence.Ralph can be reached by writing ralphiedawriter@gmail.com

 

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