International Progressive Rock collective Ferkaad have unveiled the single “Verbal Jousting” taken from their new album, “A Different Kind of Animosity,” released on October 31, 2025.
Stream “Verbal Jousting” via the YouTube player below:
Ferkaad, an international Progressive Rock collective, dropped their instrumental debut, “A Different Kind of Animosity,” on October 31st. The album brings together musicians from around the world, all orchestrated by bassist and composer Zigor Munoz. The opening title-track features legendary keyboardist Derek Sherinian, who’s played with Dream Theater, Black Country Communion, Planet X, and others.
Ferkaad is essentially a musical experiment led by Munoz—who’s mainly known for his metal work—as a creative outlet across genres. The collective treats each album as its own creative adventure, bringing in different musicians to tell stories through sound alone.
— How It Started —
Ferkaad’s origin story is pretty organic. During the tail end of Covid restrictions in Singapore, Munoz got together with Australian Jazz drummer Anthony Howe and Cuban percussionist Pablo Calzado for what was supposed to be just a casual jam session. Even though they only captured it on phone recordings, Munoz heard something special in those rough takes. That night became the catalyst for Ferkaad—a space where progressive musicians could experiment freely.
— The Album —
“A Different Kind of Animosity” is built around the core partnership of Zigor Munoz and guitarist/producer Niels van der Steenhoven, with talented guests rounding out the sound. They recorded across six cities throughout 2024 and 2025—Haarlem, Stilton, Rotterdam, Helsinki, Köln, and Toronto—before Benni Schäfer mixed and mastered everything at Horus Studios in Hannover, Germany.
About the album title, Munoz says: “It reflects where we are right now. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that it’s 2025 and we’re still at war with each other, still can’t seem to agree on much for very long.“
The music itself expresses things that don’t need words. Munoz describes an interesting creative process: “Half the album came to me one afternoon just sitting on my couch. The other half hit me in the studio while I was finishing up those first songs—maybe 20 minutes total of inspiration. Those are just the foundational ideas I wrote on bass, though. Turning them into finished tracks took considerably longer.“
— Looking Ahead —
The beauty of Ferkaad lies in constant evolution. Each album will feature different musicians, guaranteeing that every release has its own personality and influences. The next album, “In Marvelous Hindsight,” will spotlight Lex van der Zwaal (who guests on this debut) in a fresh take on Ferkaad‘s Progressive sound. Munoz and van der Zwaal are planning to start recording this fall.
The lineup changes, but the mission stays the same: creating instrumental music that pushes boundaries and tells stories without words.
Munoz wraps it up like this: “Thanks for taking time to listen to what we’ve made. There’s something magical about instrumental music—it lets everyone bring their own meaning to what they hear. No lyrics to steer you in any particular direction. Just listen, enjoy, and thanks again.“
Purchase and Stream “A Different Kind of Animosity” here: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal
Tracklist:
01. A Different Kind of Animosity (feat. Derek Sherinian)
02. Placatory Gesture (feat. Hernán Martínez)
03. Esprit (feat. Lex van der Zwaal)
04. Verbal Jousting
05. Attitudinally (feat. Peter Shannon)
Credits:
Niels van der Steenhoven / Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Zigor Munoz / Bass
Jari Kankare / Saxophone
Tim Newcombe / Keyboards
Rob Stone / Drums (Guest)
Lex van der Zwaal / Guest Solo on “Esprit“
Hernán Martínez / Guest Solo on “Placatory Gesture“
Peter Shannon / Guest Solo on “Attitudinally“
Derek Sherinian / Keyboards on “A Different Kind of Animosity“