One of the most anticipated releases for me is the new album from Thrawsunblat!!!! Thrawsunblat (Joel Violette, Rae Amitay, & Brendan Hayter) are pleased to announce the following:
Joel Violette, former guitarist for Woods of Ypres and creative force behind the blackened folk metal band Thrawsunblat, has been hard at work on the second Thrawsunblat full-length, Thrawsunblat II: Wanderer on the Continent of Saplings. The first album, Canada 2010, was released in January of 2010 and featured the late David Gold (Woods of Ypres) on drums, and Joel on guitar, bass, and vocals. Thrawsunblat II pushes the boundaries of its predecessor with a musical landscape featuring blackened folk metal as well as Maritime acoustic folk. The album is twelve tracks and sixty minutes of Atlantic Canadian rawness, filled out by fiddle, piano, and Irish whistle performances.
Lyrically, Wanderer on the Continent of Saplings is a concept album, drawing structurally and thematically from Joseph Campbell’s studies on mythology, Hero with A Thousand Faces and The Hero’s Journey. Some of the album’s overarching themes are: Existence on North America, our continent of cultural saplings, the journey we must take grieving death, seeking satisfaction amidst chaos, and how we deal with these ageless human issues in this modern age.
Joel has reprised his role as songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the album, and enlisted Rae Amitay and Brendan Hayter to handle drums and bass, respectively. The pair was chosen to complete the Woods of Ypres line-up for the band’s European tour in support of Woods 5: Grey Skies and Electric Light. Unfortunately, the tragic passing of David Gold put an end to those plans, but drummer Rae Amitay says, “Thrawsunblat II is an incredibly special way for the three of us to create music together. It’s an amazing project, and I’m honoured that Joel has chosen us to be a part of it.”
Thrawsunblat II was recorded in July and August, in studios in both Canada and the United States. The band hopes to release both physical copies and digital downloads of the album in January of 2013.
When I saw this press release come out this song immediately rushed into my mind and now I just HAVE to listen to it. It’s just one of the many great songs from their last release. Be sure to listen to Thrawsunblat, I cannot stress enough how good they are and how much raw emotion and talent is poured into this thing. I’ve yet to communicate with Brendan, but Joel and Rae are some of the nicest, most talented people I have had the privileged of communicating with and their choice to have Brendan amongst their ranks must mean that he is a great person/musician as well. I’m stoked! I cannot wait to hear this album!!!! Be sure to visit their fundraiser page as well, this band needs money for the album release and possible touring! I don’t know but be sure to help them out.