TIMES OF GRACE, featuring Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, recently released its second album, “Songs of Loss and Separation”, via the band’s own imprint label, Wicked Good Records, distributed by ADA Worldwide. A decade removed from their debut album “The Hymn Of A Broken Man”, it brings the emotionally charged intensity, artistic passion, and heartfelt lyrics that fans have grown to expect from TIMES OF GRACE.
Today, the band shared the video for “Far From Heavenless.” The video was shot by Nick Hipa at 29 Palms, which is just outside of Joshua Tree in Southern California. Watch it below.
“I really enjoyed creating this song,” Dutkiewicz says. “It addresses losing faith in something — whether it be organized religion, a person, or even society itself. Judgement is an alienating thing.” He continues, The video was a lot of fun to make…many thanks to Nick Hipa for coming up with the vision and dedication to get it done.”
“This song is a deep cut for me,” says Leach. “It reveals the dark undercurrent of the corruption and hypocrisy that can be found in some organized religion. It’s about the backlash, criticism, and casting out of those who question and seek more than what is given and spoon-fed. On one side of the message is love and acceptance; on the other is condemnation and alienation. It is one in a series of songs written about an undying thirst and desire for a deeper truth. There is beauty to religion and ritual. But there are some who use this deep conviction for personal gain, manipulation, and even evil.”
The band’s debut album “The Hymn Of A Broken Man” arrived in 2011, nearly a decade after Leach‘s exit from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, the pivotal New Wave Of American Heavy Metal band the duo co-founded with friends in 1999. The first music from TIMES OF GRACE materialized during Dutkiewicz‘s arduous recovery from near-crippling back surgery. A collection of songs the multi-instrumentalist and producer knew would suit his once and future bandmate. The first album earned acclaim from BBC Music, The Aquarian and Rock Sound. It willfully upended expectations, with flourishes of shoegaze and ambiance in its songs.
Now, 10 years after TIMES OF GRACE first surfaced, the eagerly awaited follow-up arrives.
Comfortably stretched beyond the parameters of what came before, without sacrificing an ounce of integrity, TIMES OF GRACE weaves between pensive, heavy, midtempo rock, riffs, and atmosphere. The pair’s vocal interplay makes for a rich, dense, and enthralling concoction, powering through various trips through dark nights of the soul and mind-expanding excursions into the wild. “Songs Of Loss And Separation” benefits wildly from the powerhouse performance of ex-ENVY ON THE COAST drummer Dan Gluszak, who toured behind the first album and is now an official member of the band.
The sprawling second album from TIMES OF GRACE, with a stunning album cover painted by John McCormack and album art layout by Tom Bejgrowicz, channels a dissonant, menacing, and unrelenting depression. Haunting romanticism and deep spiritual yearning collide in beautiful melancholy. It’s a diverse but singular statement, like the most beloved work of classic bands. “Songs Of Loss And Separation”, insistent in its bluesiness, bleeds distortion and emotion, like a nerve, exposed.
“Songs Of Loss And Separation” Album Artwork
“Songs Of Loss And Separation” track listing:
1. The Burden Of Belief
2. Mend You
3. Rescue
4. Far From Heavenless
5. Bleed Me
6. Medusa
7. Currents
8. To Carry The Weight
9. Cold
10. Forever
“The Hymn Of A Broken Man” was released in January 2011 via Roadrunner Records. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 44 on The Billboard 200 chart.
