High Command prep new LP, touring w/ Dead Heat & Final Gasp (NYC with Devil Master)
Worcester, MA thrashers High Command will follow 2019’s killer Beyond The Wall Of Desolation with their sophomore LP Eclipse of the Dual Moons on November 25 via Southern Lord (pre-order). It was produced by Seth Manchester, and the first taste is “Siege Warfare,” which finds High Command’s mix of thrash and hardcore in fine form, and finds them leaning a little harder into their classic heavy metal influences too. Here’s what the band had to say, from the album announcement:
“Our love for the bay area in the 80’s is certainly no secret. Besides some of the more obvious influences we have I think we were much more comfortable exploring some of the less obvious stuff we hinted at with the first record. Particularly traditional heavy metal (Dio, Mercyful Fate) the south’s interpretation of the bay area (Exhorder, Obituary, Nasty Savage, Devastation, Rigor Mortis) first wave black metal (Bathory, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost). Of course all of this executed with the discharge, Cro mags, Sacrilege DNA that runs through our veins”
But it’s not solely metal music which influences the band, who cite the lustful violence of Robert E. Howard, Michel Moorcock, Jack Vance and many other legendary pulp writers of the 20th century as an impetus for their expansive storytelling.
“People would also be surprised to hear we drew quite a bit of inspiration from the music of Ennio Morricone, especially in regards to writing some more of the epic, grandiose passages and chord progressions.” says the band.
Now, with their second album, Eclipse of the Dual Moons, the band take their love of storytelling a step further, deepening and widening the world of Secartha, the realm of High Command’s songs. The band place themselves as omniscient narrators of the world they have created, and say that they are inseparable from Secartha and its people.
“It’s one thing to make a good metal record, but it’s another to put on top of it a sort of overarching story that makes sense to listeners. The whole High Command project is enriched by lyrics articulating characters, a world, and trials faced within it. We want our records to be immersive and leave listeners with a feeling they’ve experienced something bigger than the music.”
Check out the new song below. High Command are also touring in October with two other bands that pull from both metal and hardcore, Dead Heat and Final Gasp. That includes a NYC show on October 30 at TV Eye that Devil Master are headlining, and Shadowland and Zorn are on that six-band bill too. Tickets are on sale.
High Command and Final Gasp also both play Triple B Records’ America’s Hardcore Fest in Cambridge in December. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
1. Eclipse Of The Dual Moons
2. Immortal Savagery
3. Imposing Hammers Of Cold Sorcery
4. Omniscient Flail Of Infamy
5. Fortified By Bloodshed
6. Chamber Of Agony
7. Siege Warfare
8. Spires Of Secartha
High Command — 2022 Tour Dates
October 26 Takoma Park, MD @ Hell*^
October 27 Richmond, VA @ The Warehouse*^
October 28 Philadelphia, PA @ Ukrainian Club*^
October 29 Holyoke, MA @ Dracula*^
October 30 Ridgewood, NY @ TV Eye*^#
October 31 Pawtucket, RI @ Machines with Magnets*^
December 1-3 Cambridge, MA @ America’s Hardcore Fest*
* – w/ Final Gasp
^ – w/ Dead Heat
# – w/ Devil Master
