The influential San Francisco alternative thrash metal act MORDRED have unleashed a music video for their new song “All Eyes on the Prize,” which can be viewed HERE. The song is the latest preview of “The Dark Parade,” MORDRED’s first full-length album in over 25 years. Set to be released by M-Theory Audio this Friday, July 23, the record – which will be offered on CD, digital, limited-edition blue vinyl with orange splatter and limited cassette – can be pre-ordered now at https://smarturl.com/Mordred.
“This song is based on the idea of manifest destiny here in America, set to the backdrop of the transcontinental railway construction of the late 1800s,” explains guitarist Danny White. “I was watching a show called 'Hell on Wheels,' and it just struck me that manifest destiny and the idea that ruling America at all costs, plundering its resources and subjugating its indigenous inhabitants is somehow divinely preordained seemed antithetical to what a divine being originally intended. Colonization is an ugly business.”
MORDRED has also scheduled their first live performance of 2021, a record release show on Aug. 14 during the grand re-opening weekend of famed San Francisco rock club Bottom of the Hill. Special guests and fellow Bay Area heavy metal masters Blind Illusion will also perform. The following week, MORDRED will take the stage alongside the likes of Vicious Rumors and Lich King at the Redwood Metalfest in Ukiah, Calif.
“All Eyes on the Prize” is the latest advance offering of new music from “The Dark Parade,” MORDRED’s first full-length album in over 25 years. “Demonic #7,” the first single from the new record, was revealed earlier this year with a music video produced by graphic artist Andy Pilkington (Flotsam and Jetsam, Skindred, Rock Goddess), which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/_livW5vY9pQ. That initial offering was soon followed up with the music video for “Malignancy” – featuring appearances from fellow Bay Area metalheads Chuck Billy (Testament), Will Carroll (Death Angel) and Matt Camacho (Forbidden) – which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/rdyn3kXh7VU.
“The Dark Parade” features five-sixths of the personnel from MORDRED's acclaimed 1991 record “In This Life,” plus new drummer Jeff Gomes (formerly of Fungo Mungo and MIRV). The album is the follow-up to their acclaimed 2020 EP “Volition” and their first full-length record since 1994's “The Next Room.” Outside of their 2015 single “The Baroness,” “Volition” – which is available for purchase at https://m-theoryaudio.com/store – marked the first new MORDRED music since the band’s 2013 reunion. The four songs on that effort saw the group return to the scene with a revitalized energy and successfully recapture their classic sound, which is rooted in thrash metal but veers off the straightforward path for more adventurous musical explorations by utilizing funk-infused musicianship and hip-hop influences. “The Dark Parade” is the continuation of the aural momentum that MORDRED regained on “Volition” and showcases a band that sounds as fresh now as they did during their initial decade of existence. MORDRED was formed in 1984 as the burgeoning Bay Area thrash scene was beginning its rise to global prominence. While mosh-inducing thrash formed the basic blueprint of their sound, MORDRED stood out as a unique presence thanks to their integration of the aforementioned funk and hip-hop influences. The group was one of the first Bay Area bands to explore those diversities in extremes, but as the dexterous bass performance of Art Liboon and innovative turntable work from band collaborator Aaron “DJ Pause” Vaughn provided a new spin on the thrash metal genre, MORDRED retained their metallic bark thanks to groove-laden shred from guitarists Danny White and James Sanguinetti and energetic shout-along choruses spearheaded by vocalist Scott Holderby. That combination of thrash metal and exploratory funk powered three full-lengths on Noise Records between 1989 and 1994: their revered debut “Fool's Game”; their eclectic sophomore follow-up “In This Life”; and their final – until now – record, “The Next Room.”
MORDRED is:
Scott Holderby – vocals
Art Liboon – bass
James Sanguinetti – guitar
Danny White – guitar
Aaron “DJ Pause” Vaughn – turntables/keyboards
Jeff Gomes – drums
