Ahead of its release this Friday, Chicago-based progressive doom storytellers, HUNTSMEN are streaming their new album in full via Metal Injection. Mandala of Fear will be released worldwide this Friday, 13 March on both digital and physical formats, but to listen to it in full in advance here.
The band has released three stunning singles in the lead up to the album release – each paving the way for the full, expansive experience. They will take their heavy narrative on the road in support of the record, kicking off with a hometown show supporting Wovenhand and Om on Friday.
With Metal Hammer describing the record as HUNTSMEN’s ‘heaviest, knottiest and most dynamic material to date’, and Decibel commenting that the record was a ‘consistently passionate musical odyssey,’ Mandala of Fear has already been picking up accolades.
Mandala of Fear tells the tale of a soldier on her first combat mission gone wrong, as she encounters wartime horrors and traverses obstacles – both physical and emotional – dredging depths of internal resilience as she redefines the meaning of personal strength. Her saga can be consumed as a standalone epic, or approached as a metaphor for those same themes as experienced by the story’s authors.
Accompanying the 2xLP is a 32 page graphic novel, designed by Danny White, which further enhances the story. Of this graphic novel the band say “this visual representation of the album tells the story behind Mandala of Fear in a way that we couldnt dream of telling ourselves.”
With sparkling, yearning highs speaking of vulnerability and hope, and bleak, soul crushing lows groaning a dirge of isolation and despair, Mandala of Fear marries melody and progressive elements to create an undulating foundation to layer its dystopian missive on atop.