London Sessions, the new EP by THE OLD DEAD TREE, is now streaming in full on YouTube, out today Friday, November 28th.
Recorded within the historic walls of Abbey Road Studios, the EP captures four compositions shaped by a pivotal moment in the band’s renewed creative cycle. It pairs two brand-new songs with re-imagined versions of key works from The Perpetual Motion, forging a bridge between past foundations and present evolution.
Order here: https://orcd.co/todtlondonsessions
The invitation to record at Abbey Road arrived in early 2024 and interrupted the writing of their first full-length in seventeen years. Across six focused days in Studios 2 and 3, the band tracked the core of the EP with producer and engineer François-Maxime Boutault, whose detailed approach shaped the contrast-rich character of the material. Feel Alive Again channels an ascent from fragility to grandeur, while Time Has Come navigates shifting moods, alternating between atmospheric passages and pointed metal tension.
London Sessions also features new interpretations of By The Way and What Else Could We’ve Said?, recorded to mark the twentieth anniversary of The Perpetual Motion. The 2025 arrangement of By The Way accentuates its dark, dreamlike qualities, reconnecting with the group’s early doom influences, while the updated version of What Else Could We’ve Said? deepens one of their most emotional narratives. Both benefit from Boutault’s production and Tony Lindgren’s mastering, with added resonance from cellist Raphaël Verguin.
London Sessions reflects the band’s long-standing identity as pioneers of French dark progressive metal. It follows years of separation, reunion, and the steady reawakening of shared creative drive.
Tracklist:
- Feel Alive Again (03:43)
- Time Has Come (03:49)
- By The Way (London Sessions 2025) (04:29)
- What Else Could We’ve Said (London Sessions 2025) (05:39)
Full runtime: 18:42
Spearheading the French dark prog metal scene for more than 20 years, THE OLD DEAD TREEhave created 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 Season Of Mist, 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 solid 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.
A few years later, following the Covid 19 crisis and the general questioning that it provoked, the members of the band started considering to reunite for good. After several months of doubt and discussion, the decision is finally taken to write and record 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.
By the beginning of 2024, while composing its first album in 17 years, THE OLD DEAD TREEis offered the opportunity to record an EP at the world’s most prestigious music studio: the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London (THE BEATLES, PINK FLOYD, U2, RADIOHEAD…). Right after this unique experience, the band quickly dived back into the writing and recording processes for the album Second Thoughts which was released by the end of 2024.
In the spring 2025, as THE OLD DEAD TREE toured France with KLONE and achieved the production of the 4 tracks recorded in Abbey Road Studios to give birth to the EP London Sessions.
Line-up:
Manuel Munoz — Vocals
Nicolas Chevrollier — Guitars & Backing Vocals
Nicolas Cornolo — Guitars
Gilles Moinet — Bass Guitar
Raphaël Antheaume — Drums
Recording Studio:
Abbey Road Studios, London, United Kingdom.
Production Credits:
Produced, engineered & mixed by François-Maxime Boutault at Les Liens du Son.
Mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios.
Guest Musician:
Raphaël Verguin (Psygnosis) — Cello
Cover Art: Henri Lejeune (exclamations.fr)
Follow The Old Dead Tree: https://linktr.ee/TODT
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