Indiana’s WRAITH has today shared a new single, Merchant of Death, from their forthcoming album, Fueled By Fear, which is due to be released via Prosthetic Records on June 28. Merchant of Death is the third track to be taken from the blackened thrash / speed metal group’s latest full-length, and arrives ahead of WRAITH‘s upcoming summer North American tour dates in support of Exciter and Midnight this July and August.
LISTEN TO MERCHANT OF DEATH BELOW.
Stream Merchant of Death via Apple Music | TIDAL | Deezer | Bandcamp and Spotify
Pre-order Fueled By Fear here.
Speaking on the single, WRAITH comments: “Clocking in at 2 minutes and 8 seconds, Merchant of Death doesn’t waste any time. This is one of the fastest songs the band has ever written. Both lyrics and music attack with an intensity not yet displayed on our previous albums.”
What started as a one-man band in 2016, WRAITH has evolved into a propulsive beast of a band. Channeling a reverence to classic metal from a bygone era, WRAITH incorporate their distinctively blistering sonic signature to create something urgent and contemporary. The band have previously described their collective mission as follows: a war of aggression on the dour confines of the modern metal scene and total sonic annihilation.
Fueled By Fear captures the raw punk edge of their previous releases; a sound that will already be familiar to converts who have caught the band live in all their full-throttled abrasive glory. The album was self-produced by the band in Griffith, Indiana, with engineering, mixing and mastering handled by CJ Rayson. Each member brings their own influences and stylistic flourishes to the table, combining to create a tightly wound, cohesive collection of scorching tracks that reflect their individual personalities and tastes.
Thematically the album explores a dystopian landscape where the boundaries between fiction and reality are blurred, and global and political tensions form in a powder keg of fraught possibilities. Whilst the tales they weave are rooted in reality and an interest in religion, history and political science, they have given themselves free reign to explore the outer reaches of nightmarish possibilities.
Back firmly in the real world, WRAITH have a busy year of live shows planned and every intention of getting heads banging with their mosh-ready brand of snarling heavy metal.
Upcoming WRAITH tour dates:
w/ Exciter and Midnight
18 July – The Siren – Morro Bay, CA
19 July – La Santa – Santa Ana, CA
20 July – Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA
21 July – Nile Theater – Phoenix, AZ
22 July – Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
24 July – The Rock Box – San Antonio, TX
25 July – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
26 July – Come and Take It Live – Austin, TX
27 July – Echo Lounge – Dallas, TX
29 July – Turf Club – Minneapolis, MN
30 July – Reggies – Chicago, IL
31 July – Legends – Cincinnati, OH
01 August – Meadows – Brooklyn, NY
02 August – Middle East – Boston, MA
03 August – Foufounes – Montreal, QC
04 August – Lee’s Place – Toronto, ON