New Heaven, Inter Arma’s
Though New Heaven is indeed another triumph for the band, it is not a triumphant album, meant to offer some glib or naïve assurance that everything will be fine.
They call it the ‘Inter Arma Curse’: for nearly two decades, the band has emerged as one of the most inspired and fearless acts in or around American metal. They’ve also endured an endless parade of complications, hurdles, and slights: visa problems in Russia, stolen passports in Europe, unexpected member turmoil in their ranks, accidents and near death experiences, and a pervasive paradoxical sense that they have either been too metal or not metal enough. It’s been forever Sisyphean, except that Inter Arma has sporadically crested the hill to make a series of visionary albums.
As New Heaven started to take shape, the curse roared to life. Worldwide pandemic that squashed tours and writing sessions aside, Inter Arma churned through four bassists before finding salvation in Joel Moore, a guitar-and-engineering whiz who had never before played bass in a band. With the addition of Moore, drummer T.J. Childers admits that New Heaven features some of the kind of music Inter Arma could have never executed. Listen for the uncanny keyboards wedged between Paparo and the band, for the ways Steven Russell and Trey Dalton coil and collide with Moore, for Childers’ way of slipping some Southern soul into what borders on truly brutal prog. Paparo’s keen and empathetic lyrics explore arduous facets of the human experience, from innocent victims of war, to addiction, and social apathy. New Heaven is a record about enduring brambles and curses and lasting long enough to make something profound, honest, and even affirming about it all every now and again..
Childers comments, “New Heaven is the culmination of four years worth of adversity ranging from near death experiences, multiple member changes and of course a global pandemic. It marks a new chapter for us musically as we feel we’ve taken our songwriting to places we’ve never explored before. We’re excited to have come out of the madness relatively unscathed and feel as though we’ve created something completely unique that will stand apart in the sometimes homogenous extreme music community.” Guitarist Trey Dalton continues, “This record, maybe more than our previous efforts, more fully represents what we’re trying to accomplish. It’s still very much us – you know, music made by dudes coming from disparate musical backgrounds and perspectives, but with a more collective and defined sense of purpose. Clarity in direction, maybe. Your mileage may vary, but we like it a lot, and we hope you do too.”
Out today on Relapse, New Heaven is available here. See Inter Arma on tour this summer.
Inter Arma, on tour:
June 7 Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall % [tickets]
July 11 St. Louis, MI @ Off Broadway ^
July 13 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater ^
July 15 Calgary, AB @ Dickens ^
July 16 Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room ^
July 18 Vancouver, WA @ Rickshaw ^
July 19 Seattle, WA @ Substation ^
July 20 Portland, OR @ Star Theater ^
July 23 Sacramento, CA @ Harlows ^
July 24 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall ^
July 26 Santa Cruz @ The Catalyst Atrium ^
July 27 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick ^
July 28 Los Angeles, CA @ Terragram Ballroom ^
July 29 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom ^
July 30 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar ^
August 1 Dallas, TX @ Trees ^
August 2 Austin, TX @ The Parish ^
August 3 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^
^ w/ Pallbearer
% w/ Sonja & Triac
