Metal Nation recently caught up with Symphony X bassist Mike Lepond to discuss his new Silent Assassins record, Whore of Babylon. During  the conversation Lepond revealed that Symphony X is gearing up to begin work on a new album.

Lepond: "What we decided is as soon as the virus thing kind of slows down a little bit, we're gonna get together and write a new record. We've told Nuclear Blast that we're ready to start writing, so they know. So the wheels are gonna start, I would say, within about a month or so."

Mike LePond's Silent Assassins will release their brand new full-length, Whore Of Babylon, via Silver Lining Music on its new street date of June 26 (moved to a later date due to the current pandemic). In advance of the release, the band have unveiled the official lyric video for the song "Ironborn", which can be found below.

Forging a union between the mighty worlds of heavy metal and ancient history, Mike LePond's Silent Assassins are on a mission. Whore Of Babylon, their third studio album, is a no-holds barred, gauntlet-thrown, true heavy metal mission led by LePond, known worldwide as one of the foremost bass virtuosos in heavy metal music and a member of progressive metal band Symphony X. If you never knew what it was like to experience the might of metal from the old school, Whore Of Babylon will riotously teach you.  

LePond recorded the album between various tours with Symphony X, working in Symphony X guitarist Michael Romeo's home studio. LePond also plays all rhythm guitars, while the core of Silent Assassins remains the same. "Alan Tecchio (vocals) has been with me from the beginning, and possesses such an incredible amount of range and power that we're always gonna work together, and just like Lance Barnewold (guitars), he will definitely be in a touring situation," states LePond. "Jamming with these guys is a no stress situation. There are no egos, there's no bullshit, it's just love of this metal music that drives us all, and I think you can clearly hear that on Whore Of Babylon."

From the scintillating fury of "Dracul Son" to the baroque mystery of the title track, with Whore Of Babylon LePond has written and produced the sort of album that traditional metalheads have been dreaming of. Amidst the furious aural assault, LePond also marches through the tales of some of history's most fascinating and brutal characters.

"Years ago, I started to watch a lot of the History Channel, and something flipped in my head," LePond explains. "I never wanted to write about hot chicks and stuff like that, so when I started to learn more about history, I knew that the marriage of history with old school crushing metal riffs would be great, epic, and powerful. I wrote the first two solo albums on that premise, and this new album is another step up on that model. Vlad The Impaler and Countess Bathory? These are epic historical tales! Take the story of 'The Whore Of Babylon,' which in my interpretation was this demonic woman who seduces you, takes you to hell and takes your soul. Come on! That is some story, and it just matches up with this glorious music perfectly. All these stories do, and I hope that people will be stimulated into seeking more information and learning even more about these amazing figures. Epic tales go with epic metal!"

As the world spins on an axis weirder and crazier than any of us could've predicted even a month ago, there is more purpose and value in knowing your history than ever before. When that learning is wrapped in the sort of molten metal that is Whore Of Babylon, education becomes so much better. Listening to Mike LePond's Silent Assassins is a gateway to halting the cycle of human ignorance: a sentence you might've thought you'd never read, but one which can most certainly bear the finest of fruit... that and it will push your speakers to the brink of metal-motivated madness.

Whore Of Babylon will be released on CD, digital formats, and special D2C bundles. For pre-orders, head here.

Whore Of Babylon trackisting:

"Dracul Son"
"Ides Of March"
"Tell Tale Heart"
"Night Of The Long Knives"
"Champion"
"Ironborn"
"Lady Bathory"
"Power Of Steel"
"Whore Of Babylon"
"Avalon"

"Ironborn" lyric video:

"Dracul Son" lyric video:

Mike LePond's Silent Assassins:

Mike LePond - four/eight-string basses, rhythm/acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Alan Tecchio - lead/backing vocals
Lance Barnewold - lead guitars on tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8
Rod Rivera - lead guitars on tracks 4, 5, 10
Sarah Teets - flute, lead, backing vocals on track 5
Michael Romeo - drum programming, keyboards, orchestration, mandolin
Michael Pinnella - piano on track 3, organ on track 10, backing vocals