Once again, The Old Dead Tree are springing back to life. The French band are back with more dark, soul-stirring progressive metal on their first full album since 2007. Second Thoughts is an unflinching descent into love, loss and the burning desire to overcome the shadows that hunt us all. 

As the embers of yesterday fade into today’s long shadows, The Old Dead Tree cast a gritty tale of resilience and unexpected downfalls on their new album’s latest single “The Lightest Straw”.

Watch the video for “The Lightest Straw” on the Season of Mist YouTube channel:

Second Thoughts comes out December 6th on Season of Mist.

Pre-save & Pre-order at https://orcd.co/theolddeadtreesecondthoughtsalbum

Grinding against the struggles of the past, The Old Dead Tree’s journey to this point has been far from smooth. Separation and silence almost dimmed their light, but their unbreakable spirit has ignited a comeback. With Second Thoughts, they plunge deep into life’s paradoxes—a raw, unfiltered exploration of anguish and fleeting joy.

“The Lightest Straw” dives into the collapse of an indomitable soul— resurrecting a theme rooted deep within the echoes of the Old Dead Tree’s 2007 album, The Water Fields. With a nod to their doom and death metal roots, the band’s new single explodes with a brutal yet beautifully orchestrated soundscape, layering 40 vocal tracks into an intense, haunting blend. It captures the raw cry of longing: “I wish I never lost the desire to be much greater than I am.”

Tracklist:
1. Unpredictable (3:33) [WATCH]
2. Don’t Waste Your Time (3:41)
3. The Lightest Straw (4:32) [WATCH]
4. Better Off Dead (1:54)
5. Without A Second Thought (3:39)
6. Luke (4:41)
7. Story Of My Life (3:42)
8. Fresh Start (4:33)
9. I Wish I Could (3:58)
10. The Trap (3:15)
11. Solastalgia (3:51) [WATCH]
12. OK (3:53)
13. The Worst Is Yet To Come (5:50)
14. Terrified (Box Set Bonus Track) (3:54)
Total runtime: 51:04

Throughout the 2000s, THE OLD DEAD TREE made a name for themselves on the European metal scene, performing almost 200 concerts and releasing three albums, creating a unique universe combining extreme music and dark rock-pop, sublimated by Manuel Munoz’s exceptional and versatile vocals.

Just as the band had released their first EP, The Blossom, in 1999, drummer Frédéric Guillemot took his own life. The shock profoundly scarred the other three members of the band, and formed the basis of the concept for their debut album, The Nameless Disease.

Following its release in 2003 on the Season Of Mist label, the immediate success of this seminal album led the band to hit the road with PARADISE LOST, OPETH and KATATONIA, introducing their music to metalheads across Europe.

Two critically acclaimed albums followed, The Perpetual Motion (2005) and The Water Fields (2007), making THE OLD DEAD TREE a pillar of the French metal scene and a reference point for progressive metal in Europe.

By the end of 2008, just as work had begun on a fourth album, the wear and tear of the necessary personal investment proved too much for some of the band to bear. THE OLD DEAD TREE officially split up in 2009.

Over the following years, the musicians moved apart geographically and became involved in other musical projects (PENUMBRA, ARKAN, OMMATIDIA, LUX INCERTA…), but their indefectible friendship never wavered.

In 2013, THE OLD DEAD TREE briefly reunited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album The Nameless Disease with a mini European tour that included stops at HELLFEST and MOTOCULTOR.

In late December 2019, THE OLD DEAD TREE will announce the unexpected release of an EP of previously unreleased material, The End, featuring tracks begun in 2008. An extensive headlining tour and dates with LACUNA COIL are scheduled. Nevertheless, the pandemic thwarted these plans, and they were canceled one by one, with the exception of the band’s Paris date, which had sold out months in advance and was postponed until the end of 2022.

For a while, the members of THE OLD DEAD TREE were considering scrapping their return to the stage altogether, but finally settled on the last concert still to be announced, so as not to disillusion the hundreds of people who had already bought tickets. After months of waiting, and with the world in a state of questioning after the pandemic, the band finally decided to write a new song. In the spring of 2023, the popularity of the new single Terrified and the band’s high-profile appearance at HELLFEST paved the way for THE OLD DEAD TREE‘s long-lasting comeback.

On December 6th, 2024, the release of Second Thoughts, the band’s 4th album, opened a new chapter in the tormented history of one of France’s leading progressive metal bands.

Line-up:
Manuel Munoz – Vocals
Nicolas Chevrollier – Guitars & Backing Vocals
Nicolas Cornolo – Guitars & Countings
Gilles Moinet – Bass Guitar
Raphaël Antheaume – Drums

Recording Studio:
Drums Recorded at Vamacara Studio, France
Bass Guitar, Guitars & Vocals at home
T.C. Vocals at 8Gods Studio, France
Ludovic Loez vocals at S.H. Studio, France

Production Credits:
Drums produced & engineered by HK
Manuel Munoz & Nicolas Chevrollier vocals produced & engineered by The Old Dead Tree
Bass & guitars produced & engineered by The Old Dead Tree
T.C Vocals produced & engineered by Philippe Tulleau
Ludovic Loez vocals produced & engineered by Fabrice Loez
Mixed & mastered by HK at Vamacara Studio, France

Guest Musicians:
T.C. (Regarde Les Hommes Tomber) – Vocals
Ludovic Loez (S.U.P.) – Vocals
Raphaël Verguin (Psygnosis) – Cello

Cover Art:
Henri Lejeune

Photography:
Aurélie La Faute,
Monsieur Brice,
DR

Follow The Old Dead Tree:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOldDeadTree.Official/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theolddeadtreeofficial/
Bandcamp: https://theolddeadtree.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UztxAFwIMRgVVNdQ54iqg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/the-old-dead-tree/73384726
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/8339
TIDAL: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/3604076