NECROPANTHER have presented “The Tempest,” the lead single from their fifth full-length album, The Book Of Change, due digitally November 13. The Denver band’s announcement, supplied by Earsplit PR, includes Bandcamp preorders and statements from guitarist Joe Johnson and bassist/vocalist Marcus Corich about the song’s place in an album centered on transformation.
Johnson connects the single to the opening of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. “A ship is caught in a sorcery-induced storm. We’ve often embraced maritime themes as a band, so this is our storm to bring in the record,” he explains. He also cites the play’s connection to a failed Bermuda expedition, describing the record’s early themes as change, bargains and the unforeseen consequences of ambition before its subjects move toward more contemporary monsters and discoveries.
Corich describes the musical approach in similarly specific terms: “This song is somewhat representative of our intent and growth on this album – stripped down, fast, aggressive, heavy yet retaining musical sophistication.” He adds that the group continues to develop its self-production skills, with the song illustrating the concise approach to songwriting they want to emphasize.
The album extends those ideas beyond its opening single. Johnson identifies The Tempest, The Thing, The Fly, Faust and the video game Rampage among its inspirations. “These works inspired us to explore something new that focused on physical transformation, evolution, body horror, and the strangeness of things that are new and unknown,” he says. The announcement describes NECROPANTHER’s music as a combination of thrash, death and black metal, with this record incorporating shifts in tempo and texture alongside an expanding range of influences.
NECROPANTHER produced The Book Of Change. Felipe Patino engineered the recording at Green Door Recordings in Denver, Colorado; Kurt Ballou mixed it at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts; and Alan Douches mastered it at West West Side Music in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. Max Sherman created the artwork.
The 13-track running order is “The Tempest,” “Caliban,” “Ariel’s Song,” “Prospero,” “Faust,” “Mephistopheles,” “The Thing from Another World,” “Rampage / Scum Labs,” “Seven Mile Slasher,” “The Veil of Flesh,” “Chopin Rediscovered Waltz – Found In New York, 2024 (Instrumental),” “Transmogrification (Instrumental)” and “Thrash or Die (Instrumental).”
NECROPANTHER’s lineup comprises Paul Anop on guitar and vocals, Marcus Corich on bass and vocals, Joe Johnson on guitar and Adam Frost on drums. The announcement’s band photograph is credited to Josh Massara of Permanent Ephemera Photography. Digital preorders for The Book Of Change are available through Bandcamp.
