The latest in a succession of effective, emphatic single releases from Danish metalcore unit Ghost Iris further underscores why the band's stock is on such a sharp incline. Delivering sonic gut-checks with tracks like "paper tiger" and "desert dread" with Mark Hunter of storied metal veterans Chimaira, "cold sweat" serves as the latest in a trifecta of tracks that wield a heavy stick of weaponized aggression.
First emerging in 2015, the band seemed to turn a corner with the release of their 2019 effort, 'Apple of Discord'. Offering a succinct, swift strike of instrumental pummel, combined with throat of the band's vocalist Jesper Vicencio Gün, Ghost Iris proved skilled in finding their own musical identity and pulling metalcore out of the mundane.
Hellbent on reaching a global audience with their brand, the band has set May 7th as the release of their latest full length endeavor on Long Branch Records in, Comatose. Intent on waking the world up from their slumber, the album's bears with it some deep symbolism. The band explains,
"Comatose is a title that represents in a plethora of ways. It’s about the fact that many people are asleep, but even from a coma, one can arise. On the surface, it might seem extremely dark, nihilistic, and bearing of a defeatist attitude, but darkness cannot exist where there’s light. We all exist in the age of enlightenment and even though it seems as if we’re all screwed and the earth is almost destroyed, times will surely change. Arise from the coma, no longer comatose, we fight the demons.
The artwork for Comatose depicts Kali, whose name translates to “she who is death”, as a mere mortal. To serve the title of the album, the majority of mankind are asleep and oblivious as to what is going on around them. Ultimately, we are death. However, there is no darkness without the light - let us all arise from the coma."
As for the wake up call that is the band's third single in "cold sweat," the message is a particularly loaded one, "Mankind can be devious. Sinners all, no one is perfect. But does judgment await, or does
existence simply cease to exist, once the light switch is set to “off”? It’s a song that explores the
darkness present in us all, and what we must do to fight it. Life is cold and it’s a slippery slope."
Armed with the kind of philosophical heft to match their instrumental assault, Ghost Iris remain uncompromising in their charge on the landscape of aggressive music. Watch the premiere of their latest video for "cold sweat" below.
'Comatose' arrives May 7th via Long Branch Records. Pre-order the album - HERE
