For Rimouski, Quebec, Canada’s Vortex, delivering a story is of utmost importance and unsurprisingly their last two albums The Asylum (2016) and Lighthouse (2018) have been epic concept albums set to their signature orchestral blackened melodic death metal. The third installment in their discography is The Future Remains In Oblivion, which builds on their sound with added black metal influence, a heavy dose of aggressiveness and a buildup of intensity and emotion as the storyline progresses. 

The first single “First Blood”, premiered exclusively through BraveWords, is the sixth chapter, out of eight and the band shares what can be expected:

“The single is a war and survival song. It has aggressive black metal riffing and vocals in its verses, atmospheric orchestral melodic death in its choruses, huge choirs, epic soloing, it has all what Vortex does at its best. We can’t wait to show how we have evolved since the last album. This is war. The survivors of the cataclysm are coming again, but this time in greater numbers and much more prepared. ‘This battle brought us our first suffering. In this battle, our first blood, our first deaths’.”

Watch and draw "First Blood":

When it comes to writing, Vortex starts with the story first, something worth talking about. Each song becomes a chapter and then the music can start to form based on the feeling of the tale. That process is diversified, sometimes the orchestra is the backbone of the song and sometimes it’s added once the drums and guitars are all written. All the band members participate in different degrees to the writing process, bringing their own influences into the mix.

The songs you will encounter on this upcoming release are aggressive, but Vortex also has a strong melodic approach and a lot of orchestrations combined with guttural and black metal vocals, and diverse guitars that alternate between howling shreds and beautiful, emotional riffs. It is recommended for fans of Shadow Of Intent, Septicflesh and Dimmu Borgir. Find preorders here.

In additional news, Vortex will be performing in the Wacken Metal Battle Canada Eastern Final on Friday, April 21 in Montreal, QC at Piranha Bar alongside Fracturus (Montreal), Turbo (Halifax), Serene Dark (Ottawa) and Strigampire (Trois Rivieres).

Tracklisting:

“From The Sun”
“Downfall”
“The Fool”
“The Walls”
“Our Possible End”
“First Blood”
“The Future Remains In Oblivion”
“When No More Words Will Be Heard”

(Photo: Freeman)