© 2024 KOSU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The End Is Near! Dead To A Dying World Writes A Metallic Epitaph For The Planet

Dead to a Dying World.
Kathleen Kennedy
/
Courtesy of the artist
Dead to a Dying World.

If we write our own epitaph for the planet, Dead to a Dying World's dark metallic prophecies are there to provide a gracefully vicious soundtrack. Nearly a decade into its existence, the Dallas band has sewn together exquisite doom metal, soaring post-rock and searing crust-punk in its vision of an Earth ravaged by humanity. For all its despair, singer and lyricist Heidi Moore says "The Seer's Embrace," from the band's forthcoming Elegy, is about acceptance:

"The Seer's Embrace" imagines a mourning world in which grief both numbs and causes remorse for our arrogant disregard of the signs that an end is near. Amidst the ruins, there is a desire to succumb to the grief, but also a call for acceptance.

It is largely influenced by the Anthropocene and how we are creating our own demise through our destruction of the environment. The imagined grief in the song has already become a real grief for many.

Dead to a Dying World's lengthy tracks often have several movements, and "The Seer's Embrace" is no different. At various times, the song foregrounds the band's dueling screamers, guitars and viola in rapturous conversation, Thor Harris (Swans, Thor & Friends) on percussion, and an extensive guest verse by The Angelus' sonorous crooner Emil Rapstine.

Elegy comes out April 19 via Profound Lore, Bandcamp.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist, subscribe to the newsletter.
KOSU is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.