Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Christchurch, New Zealand’s BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS are today premiering new single and music video Caustic Burns via Decibel. Caustic Burns is the third and final pre-release track to be taken from BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS‘ upcoming fourth album, Rejecting Obliteration, which is due out on May 19 via Prosthetic Records.

LISTEN AND WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR CAUSTIC BURNS VIA DECIBEL HERE.

Caustic Burns is now available on all streaming platforms.
Pre-order Rejecting Obliteration here.

Speaking on the premiere, Ben Atkinson (guitar) comments: “Caustic Burns utilizes dissonance, it’s grinding pace and a thread of complex melody all within that unique cross-genre sound we are becoming known for to tell a story that embodies early 2000’s grimy dark thriller films through the lens of Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception. Visions, deities, murder, trips and twists. Musically, it’s Ulcerate vs. Cephalic Carnage vs Spawn of Possession. Story wise, it’s David Lynch vs David Fincher. 

“Life, death, purpose and perception are the cyclical points of experience and reciprocal suffering for which Caustic Burns exists within. You inhaled me deeply and held your breath, I inhale you deeply and hold my breath.”

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’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

Upcoming BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS tour dates:

12 May – Ritual Division III – Valhalla – Wellington, NZ
13 May – Ritual Division III – 12 Bar Brews – Christchurch, NZ

Headline Australian tour
18 May – King Lear’s Throne – Brisbane, Australia
19 May – Burdekin Hotel – Sydney, Australia
20 May – Evelyn Hotel – Melbourne, Australia
21 May – Crown and Anchor – Adelaide, Australia

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)