HUNTSMEN has today shared the lead single and music video, titled In Time, All Things, from their upcoming third album, The Dry Land, which is set for release via Prosthetic Records on June 7. In Time, All Things' music video was directed by Ryan Luciani (GoodFriend), with the track ushering in The Dry Land's overarching themes of the liminal space between the living and the dead.
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR IN TIME, ALL THINGS BELOW.
Stream In Time, All Things via Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, Bandcamp and Spotify.
Pre-order The Dry Land here.
Speaking on the single and music video release, Chris Kang (guitar and vocals) comments: “We chose In Time, All Things as our first single because it is a sanctuary directly at the border between life and death, which is the subject matter of The Dry Land. It’s a place where an exhausted traveler can find respite while looking upon the mirrored realms, reflect upon their beauty, indifference, and desolation, and decide next steps.
"For those who have seen death, the warm light of the living day must share space in the heart with the frigid night of the eternal process. Where once the only direction was forward, now there is also back, where the dead remain, frozen in time. The survivor is pulled between both, their soul the prize in a war as old as existence. We hope to capture the possibility that both the night and day can coexist, balanced, within the still-beating heart.”
Following the release of their sophomore full-length, Mandala of Fear, in 2020 and The Dying Pines EP in 2022 HUNTSMEN’s intervening years between studio albums were marked with devastatingly contrasting highs and lows. Whilst their body of studio work continued to garner acclaim from fans and critics alike, chronic illness would become a recurring uphill battle for the ensemble. As these jarring mixed fortunes reached their apex towards the end of 2022, the band reached towards each other outside of their craft as old friends. Taking stock of four years of tribulations led to a reevaluation of what it is to be creatives and, in turn, ushered in a collective rebirth.
Writing sessions for The Dry Land saw a number of artistic firsts for HUNTSMEN, most notably with the first full collaborative inclusion of vocalist Aimee Bueno-Knipe. The creative process soon saw HUNTSMEN adding more black metal influences into their Americana and folk tinged doom, evidenced most overtly on tracks such as This, Our Gospel and lead single In Time, All Things. Elsewhere, HUNTSMEN’s knack for finely crafted and richly layered melodies offer moments of resplendence on the slow burning Lean Times and closer The Herbsight.
Mirroring the circumstances and environment that led to its creation, The Dry Land’s pacing is one rooted in the art of rise and fall dynamics both musically and lyrically. Tales of escaping religious violence, malevolent apparitions and death incarnate all play key roles throughout the album’s narrative thread. HUNTSMEN treat each tale as both exorcism and exaltation, adding a pervasively unsettling quality to The Dry Land that is sure to stick long after the runtime is over.
The Dry Land was recorded and mixed by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Studios before being placed in the hands of Brad Boatright for mastering, with the resulting sound adding a towering grandiosity to the album whilst simultaneously highlighting HUNTSMEN’s newfound corrosive qualities. The Dry Land’s striking cover art was created by Derek Setzer, depicting an immolating dancer in high contrast black and white amongst rusted gold.
Through the fire, HUNTSMEN find themselves reborn on The Dry Land.
Upcoming HUNTSMEN shows:
June 7 - Sleeping Village - Chicago, IL (The Dry Land album release show)
w/ Without Waves and Anatomy of Habit
The Dry Land tracklist:
HUNTSMEN is:
Chris Kang - guitar and vocals
Aimee Bueno-Knipe - vocals
Marc Stranger-Najjar - bass and vocals
Ray Bueno-Knipe - drums and vocals
Gavin Cushman - guitar and vocals
Kirill Orlov - guitar (on The Dry Land studio recording only)