Meta-Stasis Present A Mix of Death Metal And Electronica On New Album
Comprising former members of prog metal band SikTh and death metal act Ted Maul, the UK band talk about their recently-launched second release ‘Paradox of Metanoia’ and a possible tour of India
Meta-Stasis | Photo: Courtesy of the band.
When it comes to metal, you’d think some things are sacred. Not for UK technical death metal band Meta-Stasis, who dabble in not just gnashing death metal but also electronic music. As much as they like to dress up in rags, masks and sing about the usual death metal motifs like serial killers, religion and war, it’s surprising to hear guitarist Paul McGarry say all of the band members have their roots in metal but also love the groove and dirt of jungle and electronic music.
Perhaps it’s that combination that’s attracted critical acclaim for their second album Paradox of Metanoia, which released in July. Formed in 2012 after starting out as a studio project a few years prior, Meta-Stasis’ debut full-length When the Mind Departs the Flesh released as soon as the band started performing live in 2012. Says vocalist Solomon J, “Having an album out before we even really started has allowed us to take a bit more time with the second record, and we are glad we did. We feel the rewrites and refinement helped contain the chaos.”
The band went into Grindstone Studio with sound engineer Scott Atkins, who has worked with top British metal bands such as Cradle of Filth and Sylosis, in 2013 and ended up with a neat, slice-and-dice metal sound that’s also a nod towards Solomon’s previous band, electro-death metallers Ted Maul. Solomon originally began working on the demented concept behind Meta-Stasis with prog metal band SikTh’s drummer Dan Foord but it’s evolved far from both projects into its own sound. Says Solomon, “The direction we wanted was purely a cross breed of extreme metal and jungle electronic madness but done with precise mechanical execution, injected with a high dose of schizophrenia.” Six-minute lead singles such as “Disintegrate” and “United Monarchy” prove exactly that — clock-work like double-bass drumming, guttural growls and all.
While the band toured the UK in late July and are gearing up to support Australian tech-death metal band Psycroptic in London on September 30th, Meta-Stasis do confirm they will tour South Asia next year. Besides a festival set at MetalDays in Slovenia in 2013, they are yet to venture into performing in newer territories. While guitarist David Tobin says touring outside the UK has to be “realistic” in terms of logistics and considering the band members’ other commitments, McGarry says there is an India tour in the works.
The guitarist adds, “It’s a funny one really, I’m already heading out there [India] for a while anyway, so we thought why not try and get some shows. Our bros in Xerath, SikTh and Cradle of Filth have said good things about playing out in India.”
Listen to Paradox of Metanoia
