Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Louisville, Kentucky blackened melodic death metal band, VOLCANDRA has released their sophomore album, The Way of Ancients, via Prosthetic Records. Alongside The Way of Ancients‘ release VOLCANDRA has also shared a new music video for Seven Tombs, directed by the band with editing by Malcolm Pugh (INFERI).

Stream The Way of Ancients via Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, Bandcamp and Spotify
Order The Way of Ancients here.

Speaking on the album release, VOLCANDRA comments: “It’s been a long time coming but we’re finally here and are so excited to share The Way of Ancients with the world. This record is very special to us and showcases who we are as a band better than anything that has come before. We worked hard to bring this release to life in a very calculated manner through collaborative songwriting.

“This album was finely crafted to ensure that every song tells a different story and showcases our love for many different sub genres of heavy music. It’s a great feeling to know that something that each of us has put 110% effort into is upon the horizon. With this album being our greatest effort to date, we hope that listeners and fans enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating The Way of Ancients. We hope that by the end of listening to this record from start to finish, people feel like they have triumphantly completed the most epic quest of their lives.”

Of Seven Tombs, the band adds: “In short Seven Tombs is a straight ripper. It’s the fifth track on the record, with it’s ethereal intro (featuring vocals by Emily Low of Oubliette) giving the listener a bit of a breather before the song really kicks in. This song is a love letter to thrash metal, but it still retains black metal and death metal moments throughout. It’s a high energy affair that we have been testing out at shows and the crowd response to this one has been great. It’s a lot of fun to perform.

“The lyrics tell a tale of malicious forces befalling an ancient trading port in the middle of a vast desert. The warriors in the concept story of the album must face off with undead mummies, scarab demons and viper claw snake/human mutants for starters. The song’s hook or chorus focuses on relics that must be retrieved in order to create a holy staff used to find and destroy a wretched lord of pain. Once again for the music video we teamed up with Malcolm Pugh, where the five members of the band participate in a ‘Heavy Metal Karaoke’ contest where we poke fun at different metal stereotypes. We got a few friends involved with this one, who most of which fall victim to a Viking who doesn’t handle criticism very well. This was a really fun shoot, and we hope people get a kick out of the video.”

Following the release of their well-received Border World EP in 2022, VOLCANDRA breathed life into their continually evolving universe of myths and extreme metal fantasy epics across stages in North America. Amassing tours alongside labelmates Tómarúm, multiple solo headline runs, and a support stint with The Convalescence, VOLCANDRA’s dynamic as a unit in 2024 is one of unwavering confidence and lofty ambition.

Galvanized by their growing rapport and momentum from the road, The Way of Ancients’ writing process came quickly and naturally to the band in the winter of 2022. Vocalist and lyricist Dave Palenske’s affinity for concept albums led to The Way of Ancients’ creative decision to implement an overarching story, with particular influence from the classic early Diablo video game series as well as the escapism found in sword and sorcery eighties films such as Conan, Clash of the Titans and Excalibur.

Commencing production in January 2023 with Mike Low (Cattle Decapitation, Khemmis, INFERI) at the helm for tracking, mixing and mastering, VOLCANDRA also enlisted Entheos’ Chaney Crabb and Navene Koperweis for drum recording. Further contributions also see choral singing throughout the release from Oubliette’s Emily Low. Whilst The Way of Ancients retains VOLCANDRA’s inclination for melodicism, both in songwriting and production value, guitarists River Jordan and Jamie DeMar’s synergy and growing desire for a more bellicose approach to the blackened aspects of their sound is evident throughout the near 40 minute runtime.

Intent to keep aesthetic continuity of their established narrative thread, longtime collaborator Varises Otak (Cryptopsy and Amon Amath) masterfully brings The Way Of Ancients’ visual identity to life with the cover art.

The Way of Ancients tracklist:
1. Birth of the Nephalem
2. Fouled Sanctity
3. Nemesis Confession
4. Maiden of Anguish
5. Seven Tombs
6. The Blackened Temple
7. Not Even Death
8. The Way of Ancients

VOLCANDRA is:
Dave Palenske – Vocals
River Jordan – Guitar
Jamie DeMar – Guitar
Andrew Casciato – Bass
Mike Hargrave – Drums