New York-based melodic metal act TENSION RISING unleashes their long-awaited new album, Penumbra.
Penumbra focuses on facing various kinds of darkness in the world; the darkness of relationships, politics, war, being told you’re not good enough, anxiety, adversity, etc. It’s about all that we were seeing in the world while writing the album and how this craziness can affect different people in different ways.
Penumbra is available in digital formats everywhere.
For fans of: AVENGED SEVENFOLD, GODSMACK & TRIVIUM
“Unity In Adversity”: The Making of Penumbra
“After being on a 4+ year hiatus, Chris gave me a call that he wanted to meet and chat about doing a new album. I wasn’t really sure what to expect after not working on music as a group for so long. We went out to meet with Chris, chatted for several hours, and ultimately, decided to move forward with a new album that had a new sound.
Over the following weeks, we repeatedly wrote a full song each time we met. We realized that we were honing in on a new sound for the band; a darker, heavier sound.Then about a month later, Nick joined us and we wrote the song that would eventually be named “Masquerade” in one day. The riffs were just flying off of Nick’s fingers! The goal of a 4 or 5 song EP quickly turned into a full-length, 10 song album.
Then the pandemic made it’s way to the US.
The three of us were concerned about how the pandemic and inability to play live shows would affect the outcome and support of the album. It was time to change up our plans. We wrote separately while in quarantine, and managed to keep our momentum going. Even though we couldn’t play shows, we decided we can do more videos to promote the new album instead.
But the momentum was still there; that and perseverance which has since culminated with Penumbra; the new album.”
– Alex Repetti (bass)
| Biography: Formed in 2008, TENSION RISING is a four-piece hard rock band, based in New York City. Frontman and rhythm guitarist Chris Garrigan connected wilth lead guitarist Nicky Van Page through a mutual friend, who was the bassist for the band up until 2015. Nicky commissioned a drummer that he had known from high school, and so the first iteration of the group was born. With the arrival of current bassist Alex Repetti in 2015, the band felt ready to enter the next phase in its musical endeavor. To seek out a finite way to classify TENSION RISING in today’s smorgasbord of genres would be a disservice to those very same influences which have played such prominent roles in what the band has formulated since day one. A true work of art rarely leaves its audience with a clear answer. Drawing from a rather wide array of influences, TENSION RISING keeps its sights set on one thing – to rock. To emote the primal euphoria one feels when listening to music. And they do that, with no apologies. From modern djent and progressive metal, to classic rock and alternative, there are no limits when it comes to the band’s inspiration. Among their most prominently-cited influences is a who’s who of legendary rock acts – Dream Theater, Metallica, Pantera, Alter Bridge, and Led Zeppelin. As of June 2020, TENSION RISING is currently seeking a new drummer. |