Australia has been a leader in the modern metalcore genre with acts such as Polaris, Alpha Wolf and Make Them Suffer building on the path of success created by bands such as Parkway Drive, The Amity Affliction and Northlane. One rising act in Australia that is determined to make their mark is Artifact, from New South Wales.
The band’s latest single ‘Requiem’ has an immense djent driven groove and Artifact’s distinctive dual vocal delivery. The lead single from the upcoming EP titled ‘Umbra’, the band once again worked with renowned award-winning producer Lance Prenc (Polaris, Alpha Wolf) who handled the bands previous EP ‘Insurrection’.
Whereas ‘Insurrection’ secured the foundations of the bands approach, the new single sees Artifact bring more intricate complexity and a heightened level of emotion to the new material. Commenting on the new song, vocalist Bec Horseman offers:
“Requiem was the first song Hayden brought to life for this EP, but one of the last we touched on lyrically. We’d lived with the sound of it for a long time before the words came, and when Michael & I finally picked a lyrical theme – we told a story about the kind of long-term connections that shape (and sometimes scar) us. It’s about the subtle ways someone can poison you over time, whether through control, neglect, or projections, and the daily fight to dig yourself free once you have the clarity of hindsight and start processing how deeply it caused changes in you. We wanted it to be universal – something listeners could pin to any relationship that’s left its mark on them, whether it’s family, friends or partners.”
Guitarist and song writer Hayden Rapley further comments:
“The inspiration for Requiem kind of came from me being in a bad place with a lot of inner turmoil and the internal battles that I was facing, and that charged the song with a lot of punchiness as I just wanted to play what I was feeling”
With an impressive run of shows with acts such as Northlane, Windwaker, Volumes, Of Virtue, Sienna Skies and more, the band will also soon be undertaking their first ever international tour in Asia.
“I’m super excited to be heading to places I’ve dreamed of visiting for years, and to be bringing our art & stories to new audiences” states Bec Horseman “Connecting with the scene in Asia feels like the perfect next chapter for us as a band. I’ve checked out the bands we’ll be sharing the stage with, and I’m a big fan. I can’t wait to meet them and create some unforgettable experiences together”.
‘Requiem’ will be released through rising Australian based international record label Bleeding Art Collective in partnership with Blood Blast Distribution (Nuclear Blast Records/Believe). The visualiser and artwork for ‘Requiem’ was created by Gavin Sykes at Tiltshift Media (Cell, Attack Attack!, Oceano, Vctms) Check out the visualiser below:
