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Christchurch, New Zealand extreme metal band BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS have today announced the upcoming release of their fourth studio album, titled Rejecting Obliteration, due out via Prosthetic Records on May 19. The lead single, Methlehem, and its accompanying music video is out now.

Stream Methlehem via Apple Music | TIDAL | Deezer | Bandcamp and Spotify
Pre-order Rejecting Obliteration here.

Speaking on Rejecting Obliteration‘s announcement, Stuart Henley-Minchington (guitar and vocals) comments: “Exposing our most vulnerable selves and exploring harrowing territory both musically and lyrically, we created an album with a certain catharsis to it that we feel is a testament to our resilient nature. Inspired by some of the most personal challenges of our lives and the events that shaped us since the release of our previous album Nightmare Withdrawals, Rejecting Obliteration stands as a defiant body of music bursting with a philosophy and energy that we can all overcome whatever stands in our path toward healing.”

Vocalist, Stace Fifield adds: “Our first offering from Rejecting Obliteration comes in the form Methlehem. The lyrics meander the dimly-lit corridors of religious fanaticism, shining a spotlight on the stark similarities that can be drawn between drug addicts and those who devote their lives to their deity. The church is a cartel and billions are hooked on their premium product. Visually, we teamed up with award-winning director Amber Beaton to direct a video that would stitch the lyrics to the music, conjuring the dark and claustrophobic dimension that the song aggressively commands.”

Navigating cycles of abuse and trauma, whilst actively reaching for resolution through resilience, BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS‘ aptly titled Rejecting Obliteration is a testament to and declaration of endurance through hardships and loss. Lyrically conceived by Stace Fifield and Stuart Henley-Minchington, Rejecting Obliteration’s ten tracks share a common narrative thread of finding identity and light outside of personal hurt and psychological harm. The pair’s primary focus on inner strength and resilience serves as an unwavering foundation of who the band are in essence.

BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS’ penchant for converging avant-garde progressive metal with caustic technicality and grinding intensity remains intact on tracks such as Hallucinative Terror and The Waves, thanks in large part to Nick Smith (bass), Henley- Minchington and Ben Atkinson (guitar)’s intuitive playing styles that come from well over a decade of friendship and life together in the band. Elsewhere, album closer Caustic Burns seethes with dissonant chords and a commandeering performance from Fifield on vocals – whose presence looms large over Rejecting Obliteration’s more harrowing cuts, whilst conveying a rare vulnerability for technical death metal on the album’s more diaphanous passages.

Upon completing the recording of Rejecting Obliteration, BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS sought the mixing expertise of Samuel K Sproull in Melbourne, Australia before handing mastering duties to Grammy Award winner Alan Douches at West West Side Music. The results of the technical team behind the album led to a production sound that retains the more barbarous aspects of the band’s sound and breathes life into the group’s ever growing progressive inclinations. Rejecting Obliteration’s cover art neatly ties together the core theme of cyclical trauma thanks to a commissioned piece from Eliran Kantor (Thy Art is Murder, Psycroptic, Archspire and more), designed to create an endless loop when applied to a printed surface.

Whilst despairing in it’s subject matter Rejecting Obliteration refuses to concede to a predestination of further anguish, opting instead to shun all notions of defeat, which in and of itself is vital to BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS’ long fought for and claimed identity.

Rejecting Obliteration tracklist:
1. Monolith
2. Methlehem
3. Hallucinative Terror
4. Rejecting Obliteration
5. Wraith
6. Cicada
7. Funeral Smiles
8. The Waves
9. Hands of Contrition
10. Caustic Burns

BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS is:
Stace Fifield – Vocals
Stuart Henley-Minchington – Guitars, Vocals
Ben Atkinson – Guitars
Nick Smith – Bass
Tim Stewart – Drums, Percussion (recording only)