#News #Stream Heretics – Of Poets and Prophets

German death metal band Heretics have released their second album, Of Poets and Prophets. The self-released album is available digitally and on CD.

“Of Poets and Prophets” follows the band’s 2019 debut “Via Appia”. The pandemic meant Heretics never had a proper opportunity to support that record live, making the new album their first real chance in several years to take a full release further.

The album title reflects its two main lyrical influences. “Poets” represents the cultural subjects that interest the band, including mythology and video games, while “Prophets” covers the more scientific side, with songs dealing with subjects such as black holes and the accelerating expansion of the universe. “Titans of Cruelty” sits outside that structure as a critique of organised religion, while “A Shell Around the Sun” brings the two sides together through science fiction and also provided the main idea for the album artwork.

Musically, Heretics describe the album as an epic style of death metal built around memorable melodies and riffs rather than sheer brutality. It is faster than “Via Appia”, but moves through frequent tempo changes and expands the band’s sound with synths on “Cerberus (Terzet for a Hellhound)” and orchestration on “Smell the Ashes”.

Amon Amarth and Kataklysm are among the clearest riff influences, while Fleshgod Apocalypse played a major role in the orchestral approach of “Smell the Ashes”. The band also point to less obvious references, including Hans Zimmer, Meshuggah and influences behind some of the album’s clean vocal passages.

The album artwork was created by Jannis Mayr, whose previous work includes games such as “God of War: Ragnarök” and “Destiny 2”.

Heretics previously released “The Terradeforming Experiment”, “Cerberus (Terzet for a Hellhound)” and “Smell the Ashes” as singles. A video for “A Shell Around the Sun” will be released alongside the album.

Line-up:
Fabian Marx – Vocals
Thomas Langehenke – Drums
Tim Lobner – Lead guitars, vocals, orchestral arrangements
Dennis Schnitzmeier – Rhythm guitars

Guest appearances:
Thomas Langehenke and Sammy Booth – Vocals on “Of Poets and Prophets”
Daniel Klinteberg of Heretic Legion – Vocals on “Cerberus (Terzet for a Hellhound)”

Recording info:
Recorded at New World Studios
Mixed and mastered by Tim Lobner

For fans of: Kataklysm, Amon Amarth

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