LIVE BY THE SWORD – The Glorious Dead EP

Description

While the world is slowly crumbling, it is LIVE BY THE SWORD that rises up, bears arms, and marches into a new dark age with their brand new and special concept EP release THE GLORIOUS DEAD. Two years ago, the band surprised the scene with an unusual blend of streetrock and metal on their EXPLORING SOLDIERS RISE album, with influences ranging from oi! and hardrock to black metal. Now the band is ready to explore these chosen paths even further with the addition of Sander van Baalen from THE DEVILâ??S BLOOD to their ranks, who immediately put his mark on the new songs with his characteristic drumming style. On THE GLORIOUS DEAD EP, the Dutch-American brotherhood surprises again by putting a mix of their most vulnerable and most heavy songs to date on one disc, from beautifully arranged acoustic tracks to hard pounding epic metal attacks. The songs are based around a central theme that reflects on the impact of war from different angles. That includes a heavy rocking version of the traditional and classic folk song â??The Green Fields Of Franceâ?. The fact that vocalist Erick Barnes is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with several tours under his belt adds even more weight to the songs and the concept. The previous LBTS releases already showcased Erick as a very strong vocalist, but on THE GLORIOUS DEAD EP he pushes things a little further with some impressive clean vocal lines. Wouter Davidsâ?? (REBELLION RECORDS / COSMIC KEY CREATIONS) angular songwriting skills and guitar playing (ominously presented in all its stripped down and basic glory on the releases of his former band RAZORBLADE) have become more refined over the years, which result in more elaboration and variety in the newly recorded tracks. Besides laying down heavy and tight bass lines, Freek De Greef is a celebrated sound engineer and has provided the new songs with a heavy vintage, yet fresh blasting mix and production. The recordings were done in three different studios located on two continents. The majestic cover artwork captures an ancient burial site from 2000 BC at Regte Heide (NL) and was hand-painted by the grandmaster of dark arts, Johan Prenger, who is also responsible for the artwork on the previous LBTS release. THE GLORIOUS DEAD EP is being put out as a warm-up for the full album release. It will be released as a one-time limited pressing on 12â? vinyl and CD, and it will not be re-released in this form or format ever again. All tracks were exclusively recorded for the EP release except for â??Sacrificeâ?, which is taken from the upcoming full-length album CERNUNNOS (planned for March 2023). The lyrics for â??Sacrificeâ? were written by Richard Walker of SOLSTICE fame, who happened to be a great supporter of the band since the very start. Sir Walkerâ??s lyrics are a perfect fit for this release, and the song is a threatening and teasing glimpse of things to come. “The Glorious Dead EP is a tribute to a generation of young warriors who put their lives at risk in a burning world. We will remember their selfless deeds in modern times where individualistic, egocentric and narcissistic values often prevail, and where true sacrifice is rareâ?¦â?