This Friday, July 28th, Byzantine will release their new album, The Cicada Tree, via Metal Blade Records. Heralded as the most underrated band from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal Movement, Byzantine has slowly gained a cult-like following after releasing five genre-bending albums. 16 years underground, it's finally time for the world to hear Byzantine.

For another preview of The Cicada Tree, a video for the new single "Vile Maxim" (directed/edited by Holly Mollohan, and produced by Screaming Butterfly Entertainment), can be seen below.

The new album can be pre-ordered here in the following formats:

- CD
- 180g black 2LP + etching (limited to 150 copies - USA exclusive)
- peach orange marbled 2LP + etching (limited to 350 copies - USA exclusive)
- clear pastel rose 2LP + etching (limited to 100 copies - EU exclusive)

* exclusive bundles with a shirt, plus digital options are also available

To state that The Cicada Tree is "classic Byzantine" in no way implies that this is an album solely rooted in the band's past. Certainly, all of the hallmarks that have made their sound so compelling for close to two decades are present and correct: muscular yet lithe riffs and fluid leads play against gripping, dynamic and at times unpredictable rhythms, while rich melodies and lyrics that are both involved and intelligent wind their way through every track. But, once more, the groove metal unit has continued their steady evolution - the interplay between their members organic and natural, imbuing the record's sixty-two-minute running time with a freshness and urgency.

Founding member Chris "OJ" Ojeda states, "The first few albums, you're trying to find your sound, and sometimes you tend to not see the forest for the trees. Now, on album number six, it seems a calmness took hold during the songwriting process, possibly from just having more confidence in our sound. At this point, our fans expect us to experiment and push our boundaries, which is an extremely liberating feeling."

The Cicada Tree tracklisting:

“New Ways To Bear Witness”
“Vile Maxim”
“Map Of The Creator”
“Dead As Autumn Leaves”
“Trapjaw”
“The Subjugated”
“Incremental”
“The Cicada Tree”
“Verses Of Violence”
“Moving In Stereo” (The Cars cover)
“Servitude” (Fishbone cover)

“Vile Maxim” video:

“Trapjaw” lyric video:

“New Ways To Bear Witness” video:

To celebrate The Cicada Tree's release, the band will have an official album release party on July 29th at The V Club in Charleston, WV (where the "New Ways To Bear Witness" video was filmed). Dream The Electric Sleep and Against will also perform with Byzantine at the event; for more details, head here.

Byzantine tour dates (headlining shows):

July
29 - Charleston, WV - The V Club (The Cicada Tree Release Party)

August
5 - Pittsburgh, PA - Cattivo
19 - Johnson City, TN - Capone's

September
1 - Baltimore, MD - Sidebar
2 - Richmond, VA - The Canal Club

Byzantine tour dates with Sacred Reich:

September
14 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory w/ Hirax, Yidhra
15 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Theatre w/ Hirax, Yidhra
16 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's w/ Yidhra
18 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
20 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
21 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
22 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
23 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
24 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
25 - Philadelphia, PA - Voltage
27 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
28 - New Orleans, LA - Southport Hall
29 - Dallas, TX - Trees
30 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar w/ Slim

October
1 - San Antonio, TX - Rock Box