Italian avant-garde metallers EPHEL DUATH have unveiled the artwork for their fourth studio album, Through My Dog's Eyes, pictured on the left (click to enlarge).

Through My Dog's Eyes, is out on January, 26th 2009 via Earache. A new sing called 'Guardian' is streaming online here.

Earache recently issued the following press release regarding Through My Dog's Eyes:

Ephel Duath has never been one to take the traditional approach to creating music and their latest effort takes this outlook even further. Through My Dog's Eyes is based on a bizarre concept conjured up by guitarist and founding member Davide Tiso, in which the entire album is written from the perspective of a dog. Tiso explains: "I wrote a few short stories and it was really fun for me to imagine myself as a dog and to imagine the world from a dog's perspective. The challenge was to translate the words into lyrics."

From opening track 'Gift', which Tiso describes as being about "A cat that the dog kills for the owner as a gift, and he asks the owner if he is happy with the present", to the thought-provoking 'Promenade', a song about a walk in the park which takes a twist when the owner questions himself as to why he's not as carefree and happy with life as his dog is, the barking mad brilliance runs throughout the course of the whole album. "Every song is a window into the dog's mind or an event," Tiso continues, "The album touches on a lot of things, both deep and sometimes silly."

It's not only the lyrics in Through My Dog's Eyes which are written from the dog's perspective - rather the entire album, including the music, is based around this unique and previously unexplored concept. "The music in this case is the soundtrack of the thoughts of the dog - at times you can hear the dog running," Tiso elaborates.

Ephel Duath's musical mastery shows itself through their wide scope of work and their ability to experiment with sounds and concepts. Having worked with both international drumming sensation Marco Minnemann (PAUL GILBERT, NECROPHAGIST) as well as Ben Weinman of DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN on Through My Dog's Eyes, Tiso notes the change in direction: "Ephel Duath was previously a complex machine of moods. This time it's not full of different perspectives, just one solid direction." One thing, however, has been steady throughout Ephel Duath's career, from black metal to experimental rock - the band have always been dog lovers. "I see the dog as an animal really full of energy," Tiso closes, "I imagine this dog, the dog on the album, as a little cantankerous and mischievous."