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Drummer KEVIN PARADIS joins NE OBLIVISCARIS for upcoming tour

Progressive metal outfit NE OBLIVISCARIS is now revealing that drummer Kevin Paradis (BENIGHTED, MITHRIDATIC, etc.) will be performing drums during the band’s upcoming headlining tours! To celebrate this union, Paradis has shared a drum play-through for the song “Equus,” which is taken from NE OBLIVISCARIS’ new album, ‘Exul,’ which is out now! Watch the video at THIS LOCATION.

NE OBLIVISCARIS comments, “We are tremendously excited to announce that Kevin Paradis will be joining us on our ‘EXUL’ world tour that kicks off in Europe next week! This incredible French drummer, known for his work in Benighted amongst many other acts, was actually the very first person we reached out to after discussing amongst ourselves who we could potentially invite to audition for the band. We were all blown away by his playing and how quickly he connected with the material once he started learning our songs and are thrilled to have him joining us on the road.”

Kevin Paradis adds, “When Ne Obliviscaris reached out to me, I considered this a great opportunity to play meaningful and spirited music that blends different atmospheres into great songs and I am honored to be trusted by the band for their upcoming ‘EXUL’ tours. Learning and rehearsing the songs has already been a huge pleasure and a great challenge. But now I can’t wait to experience this music live with them and to use my drumming skills to serve Ne Obliviscaris’ beautiful music.”

NE OBLIVISCARIS‘ European/UK tour kicks off May 5! For all upcoming live dates and tickets, visit the band’s website HERE.

‘Exul’ is out now! The band’s stunning video for the new song “Graal” can be found HERE.

Order ‘Exul’ HERE or stream/download HERE.

KEVIN PARADIS – “Equus” Drum Play-Through (NE OBLIVISCARIS)

NE OBLIVISCARIS European tour
+Persefone +Asymmetric Universe
05 May 23 Helsinki (FI) Tavastia
06 May 23 Tampere (FI) Klubi
08 May 23 Stockholm (SE) Hus 7
09 May 23 Oslo (NO) Bla
10 May 23 Copenhagen (DK) Pumpehuset
11 May 23 Hamburg (DE) Headcrash
13 May 23 Cologne (DE) Luxor
14 May 23 Antwerp (BE) Trix
16 May 23 Dublin (IE) Grand Social
17 May 23 Glasgow (UK) Slay
18 May 23 Manchester (UK) Rebellion
19 May 23 London (UK) Islington Academy
20 May 23 Leiden (NL) Gebr. de Nobel
21 May 23 Paris (FR) Petit Bain
22 May 23 Nantes (FR) Ferrailleur
24 May 23 Porto (PT) Hard Club
25 May 23 Lisbon (PT) RCA Club
26 May 23 Madrid (ES) Nazca
27 May 23 Barcelona (ES) Boveda
29 May 23 Solothurn (CH) Kofmehl Hall
30 May 23 Munich (DE) Strom
31 May 23 Vienna (AT) Viper Room
01 Jun 23 Prague (CZ) Futurum
02 Jun 23 Berlin (DE) Hole44
03 Jun 23 Leipzig (DE) Naumann 
05 Jun 23 Bucharest (RO) @ Quantic Club **
07 Jun 23 Gdansk (PO) @ Mystic Festival**
**NeO Only

The cover artwork for ‘Exul’ was created by Xenoyr and can be found below along with the tracklist and additional album details!

NE OBLIVISCARIS_cover221201

Track-list
1. Equus (12:13) [WATCH]
2. Misericorde I – As the Flesh Falls (7:33) [LISTEN]
3. Misericorde II – Anatomy of Quiescence (9:22)
4. Suspyre (10:09)
5. Graal (8:53) [WATCH]
6. Anhedonia (3:43)
Total playing time: 51:53

NE OBLIVISCARIS221201

Drum tracking for Exul, the fourth long-player from Australian extreme progressive metallers NE OBLIVISCARIS, started in March 2020. There is an ominous tone to that date: March 2020. The pandemic demarcation line. That month, Daniel Presland laid down his drums in Nashville, Tennessee, with American producer Mark Lewis. As flight cancellations increased and borders shuttered, Presland made it home literally hours before Australia closed theirs. Lewis, guitarist Benjamin Baret and bassist Martino Garattoni weren’t as lucky. They were due to land in Australia in the days that followed to continue tracking, but were forced to remain overeseas indefinitely. With recording studios shuttered throughout Melbourne, a slow, tedious, life-altering two-year grind to complete Exul ensued for NE OBLIVISCARIS

What should have been the continued upward swing after 2017’s critically acclaimed Urn turned into the most fraught moment of NE OBLIVISCARIS’s career. Clean vocalist and violinist Tim Charles says the period “came close to breaking us completely.” It was a time filled with death, relationships breaking down, despair and financial loss. Presland, NE OBLIVISCARIS’s drummer since 2005, amicably parted ways in early 2022, throwing yet another wrench into the band’s plans. 

There are, however, happy accidents scattered throughout the creation of Exul. The extra, unexpected downtime allowed the band to fine-tune and even re-write parts previously set in stone before the pandemic. Charles’s violin solo at the end of “Graal” is a prime example: His original idea wasn’t fully realized until he revisited the song in early 2021 and promptly came up with a new part. It was a classic “a-ha” moment that improved the song. 

“Getting an opportunity to have a song mostly done for a year or so and then go back to it, find what you loved about it the first time and maybe even improve it in some ways was a nice silver lining from all the delays,” says Charles. “I think because we had so many delays that were out of our control, we were even more determined to take our time to make sure when the time came to record and to mix, that we ensured it was the absolute best it could be in every way.” 

Seven additional studios and three more countries later, Exul was finally mixed and mastered in July 2022.

The album personifies NE OBLIVISCARIS’s distinctive, boundary-pushing ethos. The band’s trademark blend of emotion and beauty is as towering as ever, if not even more compelling, particularly how Charles’s violin lines carefully weave their way around Baret and fellow guitarist Matt Klavins’ riffing. The duality of Charles’s clean vocals and Xenoyr’s growls remains the narrative anchor, elevating songs that emanate sophistication and are a masterclass in composition. 

“Our approach is always the same,” says Charles, “which is essentially to just write and see what comes out. Exul definitely had its challenges during the songwriting process. Part of the beauty of how our music comes together is that we are quite different individuals bringing an array of ideas together. From there, we work out how to combine them into something that is seamless and beautiful to us. We were determined to make this our best and most complete album yet, which definitely resulted in it taking longer. But we are so proud of this album and it’s exciting to finally share it with the world.” 

The album’s centerpiece is the two-part “Misericorde I – As the Flesh Fails” and “Misericorde – Anatomy of Quiescence.” (A NE OBLIVISCARIS album is not complete without a multi-part epic!) According to Charles, Part II began by taking a song they thought was finished (Pt I) and asking, “What if after that…?” The band then wrote a section that took the piece in a new direction and what was a 7 minute song, became an almost 17 minute 2 part epic. 

“The bulk of Part I was written more so by Benji and Martino,” notes Charles. “You can hear the very guitar-driven approach present throughout that track. Part II, by contrast, was written more so by myself in collaboration with others and the emphasis changes more towards expansive solos and slow-developing sections that build towards the epic finale. These two tracks are a great example of how it’s the combination of our different strengths as songwriters spread across an album that results in the sound that is ‘NE OBLIVISCARIS‘.”

Charles’s violin parts, whether on “Misericorde II,” “Equus” or “Suspyre,” exude confidence. The instrument has always been central to the band’s sound. On Exul, Charles’s violin playing is taken to another level. “I think that over the years, in regards to how my violin interacts within NeO’s music, I’ve simply continued to add more strings to my bow, so to speak,” he says. “With ‘Exul,’ I definitely explored even further the use of layers of violin and viola parts to create a more textured feel compared to other albums. ‘Mesericorde II’ was definitely a bit of a breakthrough song for me, where I felt I could utilize the strings in a way that hadn’t been done in NeO’s music before. In the end, whatever serves the song best is always the aim and having more ways of creating music makes it easier to serve the song.”

The Exul album title came to Xen when he was summing up the album’s feeling musically and lyrically. Coincidentally, it matched the experience of most people during the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I think everyone at some point has felt at odds with the world around them, felt alone, cast out, or misunderstood,” says Xen. “Exul felt right to use in a broader sense and as a lone word, for we each have our own history and a story of exile.

“Overall, there’s a darker core to this album, perhaps more ominous than previous releases,” he continues. “However abstract the lyrics are, they involve some form of unwanted departure — all journeys into torment, passion, longing and even despair. They touch on the process of physical and psychological destruction that comes from that sense or reality of being exiled, whether forced from one’s land, ostracised from a community, shunned by a religion, or even simply being treated differently for being who they are.” 

Touring will factor heavily into NE OBLIVISCARIS’s 2023 plans. The band will embark on headlining tours worldwide that will hit new territories. As luck would have it, the return to live show activity will coincide with the release of Exul and the band’s 20th anniversary. As one of Australia’s leading extreme metal exports, there is a distinct sense of gratitude from Charles and his bandmates. They’re looking forward to sharing it with fans when they resume touring. 

“Simply getting the opportunity to perform music that we’ve written on stages around the world to people that genuinely love and connect with it,” finishes Charles when talking about NE OBLIVISCARIS’s 20-year journey. “There is something incredibly special about the energy that exists between an artist and audience at a concert and it’s an honor to get the opportunity to spend 2023 connecting with people in that way once more.”

Style: Progressive Extreme Metal

Recording Info:
•    Exul was produced, mixed & mastered by Mark Lewis, Nashville, USA
•    Co-produced by Ne Obliviscaris
•    Drums Performed by Dan Presland & Engineered by Mark Lewis at Addiction Studios, Nashville, USA
•    Additional Drum Engineering by John Douglass
•    Bass recorded at Domination Studio, Italy by Simone Bertozzi and Simone Mularoni
•    Acoustic Guitars recorded at Bud Studios, Merignac, France by Mathieu Pascal
•    Harsh Vocals recorded at Audio Ninja Studios, Melbourne, Australia by Troy McCosker
•    Violin and Viola on all tracks and Clean Vocals on tracks 5 & 6 recorded and engineered by Troy McCosker at Pony Music, Melbourne.
•    Clean Vocals on Tracks 1, 2, 3 & 4 recorded at Studio TC, Melbourne, Australia
•    Additional Clean vocal engineering by Anthony Iorio
•    Benjamin & Matt’s rhythm guitars were recorded in their home studios in France and Australia and re-amped by Mark Lewis in Nashville.

Recording line-up:
Xen- Harsh Vocals
Tim Charles – Clean Vocals, Violin, Viola & Keyboards
Benjamin Baret- Lead Guitars
Matthew Klavins- Guitar
Martino Garattoni – Bass
Dan Presland- Drums

Current line-up:
Xen- Harsh Vocals
Tim Charles – Clean Vocals, Violin, Viola & Keyboard
Benjamin Baret- Lead & Acoustic Guitar
Matthew Klavins- Guitar
Martino Garattoni – Bass

Guest musicians:
Additional Violin on tracks 1, 2 & 3 performed by Emma Charles
Additional vocals on Track 1 performed by Alana K Vocal
Cello on Tracks 1 & 4 performed by Dalai Theofilopoulou
Cover artwork: Xen

Links:
www.facebook.com/NeObliviscarisBand
www.instagram.com/neobliviscarisofficial
www.twitter.com/neobliviscaris3
www.youtube.com/NeObliviscaris
www.neobliviscarissom.bandcamp.com
www.patreon.com/neobliviscaris
https://www.neobliviscaris.com.au/

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