The Absence made their return last year, after an eight year hiatus, with an excellent release that we lauded at the time. If you were worried you would have to wait another eight years for new music, you are in luck, because we are premiering a killer new track today.
The track, “Walking Shadows,” is melodic death metal bliss, and a previously unreleased track from their last album sessions. Take a listen:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syeShPtA-5A&][/youtube]
The Absence will play the track for the first time tonight as they kick off their tour supporting Deicide, along with Origin and Jungle Rot. If you're going to be hitting up the tour, you can pick up a limited-edition three-song cassette featuring cover art by Mark Riddick (Fleshgod Apocalpyse, Arsis, The Black Dahlia Murder) that contains “Walking Shadows” – which features a guest appearance from longtime band friend and collaborator Santiago Dobles, guitarist of the prog-metal group Aghora – as well a cover of Bad Religion's “Do What You Want” and an exclusive live version of “Septic Testament.”
Vocalist Jamie Stewart offered this quote about the release:
"We are ridiculously excited to finally share our new single and music video for ‘Walking Shadows’ with the world! This was definitely a standout track from the ‘A Gift For The Obsessed’ sessions, and we knew that we should wait until the absolute perfect moment to release this beast of a song since we recorded an abundance of songs and then some. So, what better time to drop 'Walking Shadows' than on the eve of our megaton tour with the mighty Deicide, Origin, and Jungle Rot? This track is utterly devastating, and it will most certainly be a smash given the complete heaviness of this package.
“We wanted to shoot a full-fledged music video,” Stewart continues, “but due to time constraints and tour obligations with other projects, all band members were not available. So, instead of axing the idea completely, we decided to film a live-action lyric video solely featuring myself. Our drummer and all-around renaissance man, Jeramie Kling, shot all of the live footage for the video, and Adam Hutton of BurdenInSilence Designs did all of the editing and effects. Both did such a fantastic job, we were all completely stunned with the outcome!
“We will see all of you maniacs out on the road in May and June. Bring an extra face – you’ll definitely need it once we’re done playing!”
Catch the band all month long on the road, here are the dates:
05/11 Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live!
05/12 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
05/13 El Paso, TX – Rockhouse Bar & Grill
05/14 Mesa, AZ – Club Red
05/15 Los Angeles, CA – 1720
05/16 Oakland, CA – Metro Opera House
05/18 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
05/20 Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
05/21 Denver, CO – Roxy Theater
05/22 Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
05/23 Chicago, IL – Reggie's
05/24 Cleveland, OH – The Odeon Theater
05/25 Westland, MI – Token Lounge (no Deicide)
05/26 London, ON – Call The Office (no Deicide)
05/27 Ottawa, ON – Mavericks
05/28 Toronto, ON – Mod Club
05/29 Montreal, QC – L'Astral
05/30 Quebec City, QC – Le d'Auteuil
05/31 Manchester, NH – Jewel Nightclub
06/01 New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
06/02 Reading, PA – Reverb
06/03 Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
