Ah, the liberty of utterly unfettered artistic expression. Nothing prefer it. And when it’s simply you, your devices and a few recording gear, coping with different human’s and their opinions isn’t a priority. So, if you wish to craft a devilishly old-school black album round a fantasy novel you wrote (The Rise of Meklarah), similar to Artanor mainman Menelyagor has executed on his new launch In Servitude of Darkness, who’s to say in any other case?

We’re premiering a monitor, “Sons of the Rock,” taken from Artanor’s first full-length, which is however one chapter within the Meklarah saga. The six-minute slayer has all of the chilly, grim hallmarks of traditional Scandinavian BM and grinds away with an atmospheric bleakness that belies Artanor’s Aussie origins. In Servitude of Darkness is about for launch on vinyl, CD and digital obtain by way of Gutter Prince Cabal on July 27. Within the US you’ll be able to preorder it right here. Elsewhere, you’ll be able to preorder right here.

Right here’s what Menelyagor needed to say concerning the new album and  single:

“Artanor is a solo challenge that emerged in 2006 after [my previous band] Fen Hollen. Creatively, I’d been sitting on a conglomeration of concepts for a while as my household and managing life’s sufferings took a entrance seat. Then spontaneously, one evening, I diverted and started writing what rapidly grew to become the majority of a excessive fantasy novel for a bit of non-public enjoyable, The Rise of Meklarah.

In Servitude of Darkness is a launch of sounds that accompanied the environment of the story because the novel was written. Naturally, the album might then solely be lyrically based mostly on the tales occasions and actions of its characters, which was considerably of a aid as a result of it allowed me to scale back publicity to the extra private views that I typically affiliate with and relate to once I hearken to black metallic.

‘Sons of the Rock’ is concerning the necromancer Rakinar and his head minion, Lauw, and their try to find what the Mûrkar (elemental floor dwellers that reside and work amongst the people), are as much as. Whereas it’s apparent to Rakinar they’re forging weapons, armor and instruments for the people, they seem like forging one thing much more essential, in secret.”