North Sea Echoes, featuring progressive metal pioneers singer Ray Alder and guitarist Jim Matheos of Fates Warning, are back with a new studio album, How To Cast A Shadow, set for release on July 24th on Metal Blade Records.
On North Sea Echoes‘ critically acclaimed 2024 debut, Really Good Terrible Things, Alder and Matheos garnered rave reviews for songs that possessed “liberating sonic space and emotional vulnerability… from somnambulant electro-fog to gritty, overdriven disquiet, to the quietly devastating (Blabbermouth).”
With this year’s How To Cast A Shadow, the band’s identity is further explored and expanded. Matheos explains: “this record is a bit heavier, with several more songs featuring real drums, played by Dennis Leeflang. It wasn’t necessarily intentional or planned, just the way things shaped up and how they emerged this time.”
Alder concurs: “[A track like] ‘I’ll Leave A Light On’ is much heavier than anything on Really Good Terrible Things. It has a darker, melancholic feel that fits well on this album. I loosely based the lyrics on a character from my favorite sci-fi series. I won’t say which, but they do use the quote ‘out there in the black.'”
From the radio-ready rock of “All That Comes After” and the intimate, escalating “A Time Of Innocence And Purpose” to the powerful, timeless ballad “Villains Or Saints,” How To Cast A Shadow cohesively crosses genres and challenges aural preconceptions.
In advance of the release, today the band unveils the lead single, “Enjoy the View.” Comments Alder: “The guitars and drums have this great drive that builds throughout the song. The combination of quiet verses and heavy choruses made me think (lyrically) of a darker side to some people. Those who would choose numbness over pain.”
The duo’s shared and separate histories help to forge a fresh creative opus. Alder has been the vocalist and main co-writer for prog metal heroes Fates Warning for 37 years, recording ten albums between 1988 (No Exit) and 2020 (Long Day Good Night). Rounding out his discography are seven albums with Redemption, two solo records, and the band A-Z, which debuted in 2022.
Revered guitarist and producer Matheos is a cofounder of Fates Warning, the lineup debuting with 1984’s Night On Bröcken on Metal Blade. In addition to thirteen albums with Fates Warning, Matheos launched several solo albums, four LPs alongside former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore under the name OSI, and Kings Of Mercia, which launched in 2022.
Of North Sea Echoes‘ sophomore album, the team says: “You could say that there are elements of everything we do or have done on this album, yet Fates and our various other projects are totally different types of music.” How To Cast A Shadow ups the promise of its predecessor with provocative words of hope, sorrow, and consciousness, paired with Matheos‘ equally emotive, varied, and deeply moving guitar work.
How To Cast A Shadow will be released on CD and digital formats. Find pre-orders here.
