Charleston, West Virginia metal veterans Byzantine will release their long-awaited new full-length, Harbingers, on June 13 via Metal Blade Records.
Produced by Peter Wichers, Harbingers offers nine tracks totaling forty-five minutes of deep lyrical wisdom alongside equally hefty riffs delivered seamlessly by one of the most commanding and unsung lineups to emerge from the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal movement of the early 2000s.
The record’s first single, “Floating Chrysanthema”, envisions a bleak dystopian future where artificial intelligence becomes sentient and overpowers mankind, essentially enslaving us all.
“Our bassist Ryan brought this song to the band,” says Ojeda, “and we thought it hit like a sledgehammer making it the perfect introduction to our new music. Peter Wichers had a big hand in helping craft this song into its final iteration.”
Now a five-piece for the first time ever featuring founding frontman Chris “OJ” Ojeda, alongside former guitarist Tony Rohrbough, bassist Ryan Postlethwait, veteran guitarist Brian Henderson, and drummer Matt Bowles, Harbingers is a crown jewel in their impressive seven-album discography.
Notes Ojeda, “After twenty-five years of riding the struggle bus, we’re ready to show the rock and metal world what we’re truly about.”
The album cover, designed by mixed-media artist Ashley Hoey, beautifully depicts Irene of Athens — the mother of Emperor Constantine and the first female empress of the Byzantine Empire. This focus on a maternal ruler eloquently ties into the album’s title, Harbingers, which means “ones who usher in great change.”
Harbingers will be released on CD and digital formats. Find preorders here.
It has taken years of ups and downs for the Charleston, West Virginia band to reach the point of creating Harbingers. Discovered early on by Lamb of God‘s Chris Adler, Byzantine quickly released their 2004 debut, The Fundamental Component, delivering a raw fusion of Bay Area thrash and Southern-tinged groove metal-setting the tone for their future sound. Their 2005 release, …And They Shall Take Up Serpents, marked an even more blistering evolution. However, turmoil ultimately led to Byzantine‘s breakup, announced just one day after the release of their third album, 2007’s prophetic Oblivion Beckons.
Reforming to release the independent albums Self-Titled (2013) and To Release Is to Resolve (2015), the band saw the latter dominate SiriusXM’s Hard Attack Devil’s Dozen for weeks, also earning them the #1 spot on CMJ’s Loud Rock Chart. Notably, Byzantine became only the second independent band to achieve this feat-following Clutch‘s indie release Earth Rocker.
In 2017, Byzantine made their Metal Blade debut with The Cicada Tree, seamlessly merging multiple genres into their progressive groove sound-a signature blend now synonymous with the band. With Harbingers raising the stakes and a revitalized lineup in place, Ojeda confidently states: “If you’ve slept on Byzantine for the past 25 years, Harbingers will awaken you.”
