Returning with one of this year’s most revelatory releases, IV is the fourth instalment in Beastwars’ canon and its life affirming in more ways than one. So heavy and heavily admired around the world, New Zealand's legendary metallers are back with a new lease of life – quite literally – following vocalist Matt Hyde’s recovery from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. After undergoing six months of treatment in 2016, Hyde, who is now in remission, was given an opportunity to look into the abyss, beyond life as we know it. "Throughout the treatment I was numb,” he explains. “It's interesting to have the ability to confront that, to confront the void, to confront the idea of mortality. I didn't make peace with it either." The experience and loneliness in isolation of treatment gave Hyde plenty to consider. Life, friendships and relationships, especially with his then ten-year-old daughter resulted in a record that leaves nothing unsaid. "I was lucky that I had music to express what had happened to me,” Hyde says. “A lot of people don't have that. I was very lucky that we could make a record. I took the time to process it and turned it into something else."
Based on a story from a 4000 year old Babylonian epic, 'Wolves and Prey' is the brand new single from Beastwars. As director Amber Beaton explains:
"When I first heard the song and title it reminded me of one of the stories in Gilgamesh where the shepherd is turned into a wolf, his own worst enemy. That then reminded me of a different time when I was interviewing Matthew for a documentary about the new album and he had told me that while he was doing chemotherapy he had to poison himself to get better. So you have to turn into your own enemy in order to live. That's what lead me down this path. And because of that, looking more into the original story of Gilgamesh, he's on a mission to find out how to live forever. And then he finds out that of course we're all meant to die."
Beating the likes of Billy Eilish and The Black Keys to number one in the Official New Zealand Music Chart this week, IV, the new album from Beastwars is out now through Destroy Records on limited edition vinyl, cassette, CD at http://www.beastwars.bigcartel.com.
Watch and share the video for ‘Wolves And Prey’ HERE |
|