Chicago, Illinois based Progressive Doom/Post-Metal band Huntsmen published the official video for the first single “In Time, All Things” taken from their upcoming album, “The Dry Land,” due out on June 7th, 2024 via Prosthetic Records. Watch the video through the YouTube player below:
“In Time, All Things” music video was directed by Ryan Luciani (GoodFriend), with the track ushering in “The Dry Land” overarching themes of the liminal space between the living and the dead.
Purchase and Stream “In Time, All Things” via Apple Music | Tidal | Deezer | Bandcamp | Spotify
Pre-order “The Dry Land” HERE
Speaking on the single and music video release, Chris Kang (guitar and vocals) comments: “We chose ‘In Time, All Things’ as our first single because it is a sanctuary directly at the border between life and death, which is the subject matter of ‘The Dry Land.’ It’s a place where an exhausted traveler can find respite while looking upon the mirrored realms, reflect upon their beauty, indifference, and desolation, and decide next steps.
For those who have seen death, the warm light of the living day must share space in the heart with the frigid night of the eternal process. Where once the only direction was forward, now there is also back, where the dead remain, frozen in time. The survivor is pulled between both, their soul the prize in a war as old as existence. We hope to capture the possibility that both the night and day can coexist, balanced, within the still-beating heart.”
Following the release of their sophomore full-length, “Mandala Of Fear,” in 2020 and “The Dying Pines” EP in 2022 Huntsmen’s intervening years between studio albums were marked with devastatingly contrasting highs and lows. Whilst their body of studio work continued to garner acclaim from fans and critics alike, chronic illness would become a recurring uphill battle for the ensemble. As these jarring mixed fortunes reached their apex towards the end of 2022, the band reached towards each other outside of their craft as old friends. Taking stock of four years of tribulations led to a reevaluation of what it is to be creatives and, in turn, ushered in a collective rebirth.
Writing sessions for “The Dry Land” saw a number of artistic firsts for Huntsmen, most notably with the first full collaborative inclusion of vocalist Aimee Bueno-Knipe. The creative process soon saw Huntsmen adding more black metal influences into their Americana and folk tinged doom, evidenced most overtly on tracks such as “This, Our Gospel” and lead single “In Time, All Things.” Elsewhere, Huntsmen’s knack for finely crafted and richly layered melodies offer moments of resplendence on the slow burning Lean Times and closer The Herbsight.
Mirroring the circumstances and environment that led to its creation, “The Dry Land” pacing is one rooted in the art of rise and fall dynamics both musically and lyrically. Tales of escaping religious violence, malevolent apparitions and death incarnate all play key roles throughout the album’s narrative thread. Huntsmen treat each tale as both exorcism and exaltation, adding a pervasively unsettling quality to “The Dry Land” that is sure to stick long after the runtime is over.
“The Dry Land” was recorded and mixed by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Studios before being placed in the hands of Brad Boatright for mastering, with the resulting sound adding a towering grandiosity to the album whilst simultaneously highlighting Huntsmen’s newfound corrosive qualities. “The Dry Land” striking cover art was created by Derek Setzer, depicting an immolating dancer in high contrast black and white amongst rusted gold.
Through the fire, Huntsmen find themselves reborn on “The Dry Land.”
Tracklist:
01. This, Our Gospel
02. Cruelly Dawns
03. Lean Times
04. In Time, All Things
05. Rain
06. Herbsight
Upcoming Huntsmen shows:
June 7 – Sleeping Village – Chicago, IL (“The Dry Land” album release show) w/ Without Waves and Anatomy Of Habit
Lineup:
Chris Kang / Guitar and Vocals
Aimee Bueno-Knipe / Vocals
Marc Stranger-Najjar / Bass and Vocals
Ray Bueno-Knipe / Drums and Vocals
Gavin Cushman / Guitar and Vocals
Kirill Orlov / Guitar (on “The Dry Land” studio recording only)
