Sweden has been a fertile ground for metal of all varieties for multiple decades, and there appears to be no sign that this will change anytime soon. The variety and quality of bands is staggering, and Metal Blade Records is prepared to help add The Great Discord to the list of one of Sweden's finest new groups. Duende will be available worldwide via Metal Blade Records on June 2nd in North America, June 1st in the UK / Europe, and May 29th in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

 

 

The band's cornerstone is with the enigmatic vocals of Fia Kempe. Her tone and delivery is immensely emotive and is augmented by a band whose sound is impossible to describe. It's technical, heavy, and yet not so much to overwhelm those not anointed in metal. What's important is that The Great Discord offer a truly unique twist on both metal and what is to be expected from a female-fronted band.

One of the most unique things about The Great Discord is their visual presentation. This has been showcased so far in a series of four video teasers that can be viewed below.

Today the band further expands upon their intriguing and mystifying visuals with a new video for the song "The Aging Man". The video was directed by Philip Kullgren and edited by Joakim Sjöholm, both from Pellen Productions.

"The video is a mix of a presentation of our band, and a visualisation of the concept behind our song, “The Aging Man”. The idea is that a man, facing his mortality, struggles with his impending death, here personified by Fia's stage persona. Acting as a sort of inverted Saint Peter, or Charon, she is a gatekeeper, a guide, challenging his thoughts and beliefs about what is going to happen, and forces him to face his demons and his regrets. The game of chess is a symbol for this struggle. Welcome to The Great Discord,” says the band about the video.

Teasers:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

“L'homme Mauves”:

"Eigengrau”:

The relationship between Kempe and drummer Aksel Holmgren has stood for many years, connecting on a deep personal level when it comes to music, though it was only when they came together to form The Great Discord in 2013 that their collaboration began. Sharing an interest in progressive music, they count the likes of Genesis and King Crimson as well as contemporary acts such as Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan among those who have inspired them.

While music pundits and critics will fall over themselves trying to label the unique and intriguing sounds contained within Duende the band are more interested in presenting their music to the world, with the hope of making a profound musical connection with the likeminded. Having been working toward the completion of the record for nearly two years the band have perhaps only just arrived at the beginning, and the ambitiousness of their music is further reflected in their goals. "We obviously want to take over the world," Kempe smiles. "We really believe in our vision, we really believe in the concept behind everything that we do. We want to entertain people. We want them to come to our shows and experience everything that we have visualized for this band, and we want them to relate to the emotion that we're putting into our songs, to be able to find something in The Great Discord that they cannot find anywhere else."