“Frigid birds fly onward the north, surpassing the distance and gravity
They yet don’t know that there is no home, no place to build a nest
The rest no longer matters; the sacred land fell prey to fire
And someone’s evil will” (lyrics taken from ‘Phoenix‘)

Denoting the importance of the conceptual layer in their Art, Black Metal innovators WHITE WARD created an emblematic lyric video for their song ‘Phoenix‘. The burning tree operates as a symbol for the true and gruesome story of nature’s destruction and the abuse of power. However, as the phoenix rises from the ashes, hope must never be abandoned.

Giving musical life to this narration, WHITE WARD perfected their uncanny formula of merging the harsh aggression of Black Metal fury with melodic as well as dramatic guitar arrangements, subtle saxophone elements and spoken passages. Watch the clip below and immerse yourself in the cosmos of ‘Phoenix‘:

The 3D animation was done by Gabriele Panci, while Stepan Burban/Palindrom took care of the video editing.

Composer Yurii comments on the video:

“The tracks ‘Phoenix‘ and ‘Cronus‘ from “False Light” are both based on real and tragic events. The song ‘Phoenix‘ tells the story of Kateryna Handziuk, a Ukrainian activist, involved in the investigation of the purposeful mass forest fires in the Kherson region that were sanctioned by local officials with ties to organized crime. 2018 saw an acid attack and the subsequent hospital death of Kateryna. We decided to create additional content for these songs to motivate people so they would dig deeper into the lyrics and themes of the compositions. The reason why I mention two tracks is the fact that we planned to make a music video for ‘Cronus‘ as well. However, our plans were destroyed by war…“

“False Light” was released on CD, vinyl and digitally with fitting merch on June 17th. The album is available from the label’s EU, US and Bandcamp shops.

WHITE WARD, from Odessa, Ukraine performs intensely deviant music of a noir shade.

Formed in 2012 and taking root in raw depressive Black Metal, the band rapidly shed all boundaries, taking inspiration from an array of dark atmospheres including the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and I.M. Banks. The band’s excellent early recordings were compiled into the “Origins” compilation released in 2016.

First full-length “Futility Report” was released in 2017 by Debemur Morti Productions to instant critical acclaim. Exploring themes of borderline death states, aberrant afterlife worlds, and strange mental disorders, the WHITE WARD sound had evolved into a unique mix of Post-Black Metal, deeply emotive soundscapes and expansive dark-Jazz atmospheres utilising perfectly fitting saxophone motifs.

WHITE WARD continued to evolve in distinctive directions with 2019’s much-admired “Love Exchange Failure“: the dark-Jazz aesthetics more vibrant and deeper than before, the elements of blackened Death, Progressive and Black Metal – propelled by new drummer Noctum – now more furiously intense and complex. Lyrically the record explored more universal, less-abstract dimensions, diving into the abyss of the human psyche atop the band’s most lush and professional sound to date. 

In 2021, WHITE WARD composed and recorded two new songs to celebrate the 200th release of their label Debemur Morti Productions. A continuation of the band’s progressive Black Metal experimentalism, the new EP “Debemur Morti” features Lars Nedland (BORKNAGAR, SOLEFALD) on additional vocals.

Just one year later, in June 2022, the Ukrainian Black Metal innovators are prepared to unleash their third album, “False Light“, incorporating and intertwining various influences into a potent and dystopian mix. “False Light” is an indispensable record from a stunning band at the top of their game, skillfully giving form to urban angst and the writings of Mykhailo Kotsubinsky, a famous Ukrainian writer of the early 20th century.

Despite the tragic events happening in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, WHITE WARD unwaveringly herald the coming of their third album, “False Light“, on June 17th. Their new long player is a grand work of exploratory depth and a remarkable expansion upon all that made 2019’s acclaimed “Love Exchange Failure” such a triumph.

WHITE WARD composed eight dystopian tracks rooted in a melodic Black and Death fundament, while flawlessly interweaving brass-led darkjazz and stately post-rock, gothic Americana/post-punk influences as well as integrating virtuosic guitar leads, textural electronics and atmospheric sample-work.

Tracklist:

01. Leviathan
02. Salt Paradise
03. Phoenix
04. Silence Circles
05. Echoes In Eternity
06. Cronus
07. False Light
08. Downfall

Conceptually, “False Light” is influenced by Mykhailo Kotsubinsky, a Ukrainian author and poet of the early 20th century, and his impressionistic novel “Intermezzo“. The story of urban angst and the search for inner and outer peace did not only inspire the lyrics, but also the cover artwork of the album.

Composer & guitarist Yurii Kazarian narrates:

“The idea behind the cover artwork is symbolic metaphor. The main character of the album is searching for a better life and believes he can find it outside the big city. But after his journey, he realizes that something like a better place does not exist. Instead of a cozy hut he found a ruined, half-rotten house.“

The title “False Light“, moreover, is a direct reference to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Vocalist Andrii Pechatkin comments:

“The title is linked to Plato’s Cave, namely concerning the following phrase: ‘it would hurt his eyes, and he would escape by turning away to the things which he was able to look at.’ We look at certain things and perceive them distortedly because we are biased by our previous experience. If one, however, would look at the real thing, the real light, so to speak, this light would hurt the observer’s eyes. Thus, the false light is the veil of Maya — the easier way to look at the inner and outer worlds.“

“False Light” was recorded at Jenny Records, LipkyZvukoZyps and WHITE WARD‘s home studios. It was mixed and mastered by Alex Sedin of Ghostalgy Productions. The cover artwork shows a photography by Lucas DeShazer, while the band photo was shot by Serhii Kovalo. Design and layout by El Chulito.

To premiere a first song of the new album, Debemur Morti Productions teamed up with Metal Injection. With over thirteen minutes length, ‘Leviathan‘ is a monumental composition unifying nearly all different influences and elements present on WHITE WARD‘s new album into a coherent composition. Listen to the track below:

Yurii comments on ‘Leviathan‘:

“It was one of the first songs we started to work on for our third album. This track set the mood and style for the rest of the album. I cannot remember exactly how long it took to complete this song, but I can say that its creation went through a dozen phases, a lot of variants and fixes, because we are always trying to achieve the best possible result. The compositional process, however, remained the same as always: at first, I created most of the riffs, the structure & rhythm of the song, and then, together as a band, we focused on the details and introduced new ideas into different parts of the song. For me it was easy to decide that this song is the opener of the album. When I create music, I already feel and know the exact place a specific song should have on the tracklist of the album. Therefore, it is almost always a spontaneous process, much more than a coherent planning.“

“False Light” will be released on CD (digipack & limited digibook), tape, vinyl and digitally on June 17th. Different merch designs will accompany the album as t-shirt (men/women), long sleeves and hooded sweatshirt. Pre-orders for the album and merch are possible via the label’s EU, US (no merchandising) and Bandcamp shops.

WHITE WARD, from Odessa, Ukraine performs intensely deviant music of a noir shade.

Formed in 2012 and taking root in raw depressive Black Metal, the band rapidly shed all boundaries, taking inspiration from an array of dark atmospheres including the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and I.M. Banks. The band’s excellent early recordings were compiled into the “Origins” compilation released in 2016.

First full-length “Futility Report” was released in 2017 by Debemur Morti Productions to instant critical acclaim. Exploring themes of borderline death states, aberrant afterlife worlds, and strange mental disorders, the WHITE WARD sound had evolved into a unique mix of Post-Black Metal, deeply emotive soundscapes and expansive dark-Jazz atmospheres utilising perfectly fitting saxophone motifs.

WHITE WARD continued to evolve in distinctive directions with 2019’s much-admired “Love Exchange Failure“: the dark-Jazz aesthetics more vibrant and deeper than before, the elements of blackened Death, Progressive and Black Metal – propelled by new drummer Noctum – now more furiously intense and complex. Lyrically the record explored more universal, less-abstract dimensions, diving into the abyss of the human psyche atop the band’s most lush and professional sound to date. 

In 2021, WHITE WARD composed and recorded two new songs to celebrate the 200th release of their label Debemur Morti Productions. A continuation of the band’s progressive Black Metal experimentalism, the new EP “Debemur Morti” features Lars Nedland (BORKNAGAR, SOLEFALD) on additional vocals.

Just one year later, in June 2022, the Ukrainian Black Metal innovators are prepared to unleash their third album, “False Light“, incorporating and intertwining various influences into a potent and dystopian mix. “False Light” is an indispensable record from a stunning band at the top of their game, skillfully giving form to urban angst and the writings of Mykhailo Kotsubinsky, a famous Ukrainian writer of the early 20th century.

|| Debemur Morti Productions ||

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