No mystery as to what Baltimore dissonant black metal trio Vermörd—Zach Thomsen (vocals), Zak Kempler (drums/guitar/bass) and Yianni Papaeracleous (guitar/bass)—look like without corpse paint. We have the before and after for you. It’s like an extreme metal “choose your own adventure” game. Do you want to go grim and brutal or suave and well-kempt? You decide! All kidding aside, the track we’re premiering, “Gates,” definitely leans into the former, though there’s certainly a layer of sophistication to the black metal savagery on this seven-minute rager.
The track is taken from Vermörd’s upcoming self-released debut, Nostalgic Predictions, set to be issued on CD and digitally on April 8. The full-length is a follow up to their debut EP, Dawn Of The Black Harvest, released in 2015 via Grimoire Records and was recorded by the band and mixed and mastered by Noel Mueller at Grimoire Records. You can preorder it here.
Zak Kempler had this to say about the track we’re premiering:
“‘Gates’ is a dark technical song that reflects on the ‘gateways’ chosen that ultimately determine our path. This song has a lot of sections and is chosen to end the album since it harbors much of what we strive to play, as it represents the style of the band well. ‘Gates’ is about the inner struggle of succumbing to the darker, primal side of us.”
