Progressive/power metal quartet, IMMORTAL GUARDIAN has unveiled a music video for “Phobia”, the latest single from their acclaimed new concept album “Psychosomatic”. The clip, a narrative video that ties into the record’s pandemic-inspired theme, can be viewed below.
The video for “Phobia” – which features a guest guitar solo by Angra’s Marcelo Barbosa – is the band’s latest examination of the events that changed the world in 2020, which drove the overall creative process and production of “Psychosomatic”. “As the pandemic first began, one thing that we saw happening to everyone – including ourselves – was an introduction of new phobias,” says keyboardist/guitarist Gabriel Guardian. “I started becoming scared of things that I used to like or not be scared of. Even just the thought of being in a crowd has a whole new meaning and feeling to it. Is it a phobia? Will we have to learn to deal with them, or will they go away when the pandemic is over? This song touches on the topics of these new phobias.”
Notably, the filming of “Phobia” was affected by the very real events of the outside world, as bassist/engineer Joshua Lopez and his wife contracted COVID-19 in January. Lopez recorded his parts for the music video while he was still in quarantine inside his home in the band’s native Texas. Luckily, both Joshua and his wife were able to recover after suffering only mild symptoms. The video also saw drummer Justin Piedimonte contributing from his home in Montreal, Canada, and Gabriel Guardian recording his parts in his new home of Las Vegas alongside vocalist Carlos Zema, who recently relocated from his native Brazil after staying in lockdown for many months.
“Phobia” showcases Zema‘s high-flying vocals and Gabriel Guardian‘s dizzying abilities to play guitar and keyboard simultaneously. Guardian has shown off this unbelievable dexterity on MTV’s “Amazingness”, and his unique dual-instrument covers of classics by the likes of Iron Maiden, Pantera and Guns N’ Roses have garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
IMMORTAL GUARDIAN began building their following through multiple self-released EPs before signing with M-Theory Audio for the 2018 release of their first full-length record, “Age of Revolution.” The band has performed live alongside some of the biggest names in metal, including Judas Priest, Dragonforce, Kamelot, Symphony X, Sonata Arctica, Slayer, Metal Church, Soilwork and Steve Vai, and in countries such as Brazil and Russia, and at high-profile events such as ESPN’s X Games, South By Southwest and the Fun Fun Fun Fest. The band supported the release of “Age of Revolution” by touring relentlessly alongside fellow shredders such as Marty Friedman, Powerglove and Exmortus, winning over new audiences nationwide.
IMMORTAL GUARDIAN gathered in Las Vegas at the beginning of 2020 to record their second album. As the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic began to ensue, shutdowns around the world began being enforced, resulting in the band completely scrapping the record that they had been working on and writing and creating a new thematic record about their emotions surrounding current events. The final result was a truly multi-national record, with Gabriel remaining in Las Vegas, Zema recording his vocals from his home in Brazil, Piedimonte drumming from Montreal and Lopez recording from IMMORTAL GUARDIAN‘s native Texas.
“Psychosomatic” is a product of the extraordinary turmoil of 2020 that affected millions of people around the world, as well as the next step in IMMORTAL GUARDIAN’s exhilarating melding of melodic power metal with progressive/shred tendencies. CD and limited-edition purple vinyl editions of “Psychosomatic” are available now at this location.
“The musicianship is top-tier and the group’s compositional ability is unheard of for a band this young. [Guitarist] Gabriel Guardian is a new American hero.” – Decibel Magazine
“Melody and Power, two things displayed in a smashing way throughout this album. If Immortal Guardian isn’t already on your playlist, I think they should be. 10/10 – Metal-Temple.com
IMMORTAL GUARDIAN is:
- Gabriel Guardian / guitars/keyboards
- Carlos Zema / vocals
- Justin Piedimonte / drums
- Joshua Lopez / bass
