To celebrate the release of their debut album, Cenotaph (which drops on October 13th via Dark Star Records in Association with MVD Entertainment and The Orchard/Sony), Toronto-based symphonic metallists Operus will be celebrating the album’s release with a performance in their hometown.

On October 14th, the band will be hitting the stage of the Rivoli in Toronto, with two other reputable bands - Crimson Shadows (Napalm Records recording artists, and winners of Wacken Metal Battle 2013) and Profaner (runners up at Wacken Metal Battle 2016). Find a Facebook event page here.

Prior to the album’s release and aforementioned performance, Operus - which is comprised of David Michael Moote (vocals), Rob Holden (guitar), Oscar Rangel (guitar, backing vocals), Robin Howe (cello, backing vocals), Wojciech Sokolowski (bass, backing vocals) and J.J. Tartaglia (drums) - have released a lyric video for the standout track, “The Return”, which can be viewed below.

“The song talks about that powerful feeling we get when we travel back to our old ‘life’,” explains Rangel. “This being our childhood house, neighbourhood, city, country or even our childhood friends, only to realize that we are now strangers to our own upbringing. In my case and the bassist (we came up with the concept, he’s from Poland and I’m from Mexico, we both have lived in Canada for a long time now) this song talks about that feeling we got when moved to Canada (different world) and have to struggle to adapt to our new lives in a different society, in new city, etc., and how the feeling of being out of place doesn’t change by going back home to where we were born and raised. Lastly, this song talks about taking control over your own life and feelings and making ‘home’ wherever you are, writing our own history. For our bodies is where we truly live, and not a specific geography on Earth. We used a lot of epic language for we wanted to give the illusion that we are talking about a character coming back home after a war, but all this can be interpreted in more ways than one.”

The sound of Operus is a cross breed of a metal band, a travelling theatre troupe that come together to produce a unique sound and thrilling live show, and the album can be pre-ordered via these links:

- Amazon
- iTunes
- Google Play

"Cenotaph is a commemoration of writers and poets who never gained the recognition and or lived to see the impact of their work," explains the band. "The concept and inspiration for the title of the album is taken from a statue in Budapest located opposite of Vajdahunyad Castle, Anonymous, the unknown chronicler at the court of King Béla III. The lyrical concepts are not that of any one specific idea but rather a mosaic of different stories and legends which are meant to paint images in the minds of the listener, much like the tales laid by the quills of writers long ago."

Cenotaph tracklisting:

“Silver Spell”
“Steel Against Steel”
“Colosseum”
“Sands Of Time”
“Fate's Pantomime”
“Wretched Play”
“Cenotaph”
“Maya & The Wolf”
“La Catedral”
“The Return”

Operus is:

David Michael Moote (Vocals)
Rob Holden (Guitar)
Oscar Rangel (Guitar/Backing vocals)
Robin Howe (Cello/backing vocals)
Wojciech Sokolowski (Bass/Backing vocals)
JJ Tartaglia (Drums)