Féleth – Divine Blight (2022)
“After getting signed with our new label “Rob Mules Records” and playing some pretty sick gigs at both Buktafestivalen and Tons of Rock, we’re super stoked to release our new album “Divine Blight”. It was a long and tedious process of selecting, practicing and recording, but the result will speak for itself. Our best album thus far.
It’s a collection of stories based upon the dystopian path humanity is set on. An evil king-like figurine, representing the darkness of mankind, that appears timely throughout the album is depicted on the album cover which is made by the talented Eric at Kahinnien Graphix.
We felt that throughout this new journey of an album we’ve refined our songwriting and successfully achieved a style that’s not only ass-whoppingly brutal, but also more complex emotionally and lyrically. It is clear that we’ve got multiple influences and styles throughout the album which all contribute to a massive sonic package. It’s definitely a death metal album with some subtle takes on some of its many subgenres.
Two and half years after our debut “Depravity” we’re ready to present ”DIVINE BLIGHT”.” – Féleth
For fans Shadow of Intent, Archspire, Fit For An Autopsy, Inferi, Soreption
Album Title: Divine Blight
Release Date: November 11, 2022
Label: Rob Mules Records
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook.com/FelethBand | Instagram.com/felethband | Youtube
Spotify | Feleth.bandcamp.com | Apple Music
““Majesty” is an exciting introduction to the differing styles and techniques that Féleth intertwine in their songwriting, drawing together ingredients from technical and melodic death metal in a white-hot rush that nevertheless is home to some bone-smashing grooves. “Avarice” puts those genre ingredients on display again, but expands the musical palette and makes the song an even ore multi-faceted and atmospheric experience. With no room to gasp a breath, the song explodes in a flurry of fleet-fingered, fret-leaping guitar work, neck-cracking drumming, and flame-throwing vocal intensity. But groaning chords and shrill, eerie melodic overtones also create dark and deleterious moods, building tension and fear. While the vocals are utterly unhinged in their madness (and doubled in the chorus for extra intensity), squirming guitar arpeggios create a different dimension of insanity, coupled with agony, and martial drum patterns and a misery-steeped closing solo add to the song’s relentless dynamism. On top of all that, the song also punches like a heavyweight fighter.” – No Clean Singing
““Divine Blight” is mature and presents the band in a very good and creative prime on its career. And to have a taste of what their musical strength, pay attention carefully to “Majesty” (where their instrumental technique is amazing, with very good grunts and screams contrasting in a great way), “Caretaker” and “Riven” (both are excellent moments, showing some amazing slow paced tempos, and being permeated by some Northern Death/Black Metal sheath on the guitar riffs and arrangements), “The Serpent” (a song in a more simple trend, but the rhythms are solid as a rock, with a very good show of bass guitar and drums), “Casanova” (it’s impressive how they can bind together a very good technical level with a massive and aggressive energetic appeal), “Deadlands” (what a massive set of extreme Metal hooks and melodic sense this one shows, with excellent guitars and vocals), and “USA” (what lovely and unusual elements can be heard in the Death Metal musical cauldron of the quintet on this song) will do the job to convince you to become a fan of the band.” – Metal Temple (Divine Blight 2022)
“The production of The Divine Blight is impeccable. The sound is crisp and clear and allows the listener to appreciate the nuances of the music. The guitars are thick and heavy, and the drums are thunderous and powerful and are equally as intense and intricate as the guitar work throughout this album. The vocals are brutal and full of emotion. The bass is deep and resonant, and it provides a solid foundation for the rest of the music. The production of this album is superb and provides the listener with a truly immersive experience. It comes as no surprise that someone with amazing ears worked on this project, the album was mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy) who has mix and mastered The Agonist, Beneath The Massacre, Beyond Creation and a handful of bands from Century Media Records and Victory Records.” – Metal Purgatory (Divine Blight 2022)
“From start to finish this album is a memorable listen. The lyrical content explores a lot of thought-provoking topics ranging from colonialism, consumerism, capitalism, and explores the idea that we as a species are complicit in the way our world turns. Pointing the finger right back into our faces shedding light on whos really responsible for where we are today. This album was a great listen for me and I hope to see these lads continue to grow and evolve.” – Metal Purgatory (Divine Blight 2022)
“Feleth is gaining a name for itself despite only being around for a couple of years. They are developing their sound and their technical ability rapidly and this release shows that development, especially in songwriting where they bring different elements in to add color. An excellent example of melodic/technical death metal and worth anyone’s hard-earned cash.” – My Global Mind (Divine Blight 2022)
“On all fronts you can hear that the company continues to develop itself and has thus managed to raise the bar. It makes Divine Blight an interesting work that sounds layered, versatile and professional.” – Zwaremetalen (Divine Blight 2022)
“Depravity the newest album from Feleth is one brutal album full of riffs and hooks to keep even the most particular entertained. Feleth mix the roots of the Norwegian metal scene, with the death metal tone they strive for to create some well crafted blackened death metal, similar to that of Shadow of Intent.” – Metal Injection
“With a melting pot of ideas, yet rooted in delivering a head-smashing and neck-destroying style of metal, Féleth are aggressive newcomers to a scene that constantly looks to surprise… Féleth deliver heavy and extreme noise so very well.” 9/10 – Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life
“straight up heaviness and brutality, tech offerings and melodic atmopsheres, and enjoyable groove.” – Dead Rhetoric
“Féleth: Transcends the traditional limits of the genre…” – Permafrost.today
“9/10 “Féleth offer an edge-of-your-seat experience that is both fresh and captivating.” – Metal Inferno
“Féleth does death metal fast and aggressive, reigning in their impressive technical chops for maximum impact, keeping their riffs (and songs, for that matter) relatively short and to the point. They strike a pretty even balance between chunky chords and caustic melodies, most of which are designed to coax headbanging than to impress with virtuosity. The album is front-loaded with catchy bangers, saving the more technical and weird bits for the latter half.” – Tolet Ov Hell
“Overall, Depravity is a solid debut album by Feleth. It’s strongest moments are when they keep things simple, delivering brutal and thunderous death metal that would probably wake the dead. The guitars are the best bit, they sound huge and aggressive, effectively transmitting the anger and hatred in their young Norwegian hearts.” – Abrasive Noise
“The new Feléth album is a big melting pot of all things good in modern death metal… They serve up tech death esque song structures and solos with the beautiful harmonies of melodic death metal and the crushing riffs of a brutal death metal banger. It’s an eclectic listen for sure. There are catchy parts here and there that make the record memorable and add to its replay value. The vocalist on here does an amazing job and the production value is high… Great record!” – Zax Record Reviews
[Download Album Cover | Download Album Lyrics]
Album Title: Divine Blight
Release Date: November 11, 2022
Label: Rob Mules Records
Track Listing:
1. Majesty – 03:46
2. Caretaker – 03:58
3. Riven – 03:51
4. En Elskovsdans – 03:10
5. The Serpent – 03:32
6. Casanova – 03:35
7. Deadlands – 04:26
8. Absence – 04:09
9. USA – 05:32
10. Avarice – 05:33
Album Length: 41:37
Album Credits:
All songs performed by Féleth
Guest vocalist Petter Carlsen on USA
All songs written by Féleth
Produced by Féleth
Mixed and Mastered by Christian Donaldson
Assistant Engineer Jonathan Mazzeo
Album Artwork by Kahinienn Graphix
Live and Album Lineup:
Espen Dagenborg – Vocals
Thomas Nyvoll – Guitar
Alexander Stamnes – Guitar
Brage Ingebrigtsen Westgaard – Bass
Aleksander Alsen – Drums
==================================================================
The album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
The lyrical themes are usually all over the place, but often inspired by things that I (Espen) find massively wrong and provocative such as politicians waging war, being greedy, and also how humans can be extremely hateful against others. Then again there are also songs that are somewhat purely fictional, mostly showcasing my lyrical style. The general red line throughout the album when it comes to the lyrics is perfectly described in the album title ‘’Divine Blight’’, which is a wordplay on ‘’Divine Right’’ where kings etc. meant they were chosen by god, and because of that had more worth than other people. ‘’Divine Blight’’ is my dismay in such thinking, implying that all of humanity is equal and we are all equally responsible for all the fucked up shit that’s happening in this world.
Track by Track explained (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. Majesty
Musical take: The songwriting started out with the intro which later translated into the massive hook. Most of the songwriting was written around the hook to build it up. Also threw in a really spicy shred-lead. The solos were written when the song was done. The first solo is Alexanders’ and the second one is Thomas’s.
Lyrical take: This song and the song Avarice is in a sense story related. Majesty describes the rise of a diabolical king-like entity who corrupts, oppresses and kills everyone. The ‘’king’’-persona is basically humankind fucking itself up.
2. Caretaker
Musical take: Originally written from a riff Espen had made, and just adjusted the riff and wrote a whole song around it. Some of the bridges were written a long time beforehand but were also adjusted to fit the song. The rock’n’roll solo by Alexander ended up completing the song.
Lyrical take: Caretaker was inspired by a real-life experience of a ghost sighting I had when I was young with a friend. The lyrics are about someone being haunted, then becoming corrupted by demons, and just ending up in hell. Haha, easy as that.
3. Riven
Musical take: A bit musically inspired by Fit For An Autopsy, trying to develop a huge atmosphere at the beginning of the song, and then transitioning into pure heaviness. Also, queue the fat solos at the end of the song wooohh.
Lyrical take: Very powerful song lyrically for me, where I’m trying to get into the mindsets of people struggling with drug addiction, being desperate for help but nobody is listening. Having grown up with a lot of close friends and even family who’ve been drug addicts whereas some of them have even died, I wanted to dedicate a lyric for them. Where I grew up the support system has been really bad, and I feel like lives have been wasted because of it. The mellow feel to the instrumental also helps convey this, at least for me vocally.
4. En Elskovsdans
Musical take: Tried to make a song as hard as possible for myself (Thomas). Just tried to write a song where I could push everything to the extreme. The song also opened another level of technicality to the band, which we will see more from at a future date.
Lyrical take: A somewhat funny lyric, this one in Norwegian too, about basically sex. Many years ago an ex-girlfriend of mine wrote a song for me, so I jokingly dedicated this lyric to her. It’s about a man obsessed with a woman, so he stalks, kills and rapes her post-mortem. Sounds really grim, sure, but it’s written very comedically and satirically, trying to read like typical old-school 1800’s Norwegian poetry, so it’s more silly than anything when being read in Norwegian.
5. The Serpent
Musical take: Started out writing the first riff, and all the other riffs just came naturally. No real thought process except making another big hook. Solo by Thomas.
Lyrical take: Not really much to add here, it’s mostly just lyrics to make the vocals sound better, but then again I also tried to make some cool lyrics for it. The story is basically the devil is summoned, fucks up the holy see where the pope lives and evil stuff, no clue hahaha.
6. Casanova
Musical take: Casanova was made out of an old demo we had laying around, Espen had written the first riff and it just worked perfectly as the main riff. For the melodic chorus Brage (bassist) came around and threw some wild bass-lead under which worked very well. For the solo part, Thomas starts off with a solo that somewhat follows the theme of the general melody, before Alexander channels his inner Yngwie Malmsteen.
Lyrical take: This is the one lyric I try to keep my mom away from reading (hopefully she hasn’t read any of them). This song was written many years ago, and I was heavily into the band Bloodbath, and all of their lyrics are super ridiculous to the point where you just have to laugh at it. This is somewhat the same. I wrote it at a time when I watched a lot of serial killer stuff, so it’s about a man being abused by his mother, then starting to kill females. But with very nasty words.
7. Deadlands
Musical take: The song Thomas spent the most time on writing. From the eerie and atmospheric intro lead into the more heavy riffs, a lot of time was spent on the guitar. Tying the rope between our original sound and a more technically advanced style, this was the last song written, maybe showcasing what direction we are headed. In the song you also get a bass solo from Brage, and an absolutely epic guitar solo from Thomas.
Lyrical take: Pretty generic death metal lyric about pollution and too much mining and fishing etc. This song is mostly an instrumental highlight, so I didn’t want the lyrics and vocals to be too much. Also found it funny to write lyrics for a 6/8 song again, so it just ended up very generic and not over-inspired. But it works.
8. Absence
Musical take: Absence is a somewhat generic take on modern metalcore/deathcore, written completely by Alexander. Going between jaw-dropping brutal chug-patterns into more eerie leads, creating a huge soundscape to accompany the breakdown.
Lyrical take: The lyrics for Absence was written during covid and with all the huge riots in America, but also inspired by general humans-are-shit-stuff that’s written throughout the entire album. The lyrics are so-so but I had more focus on delivering heavy and awesome vocals for this song.
9. USA
Musical take: Our most alternative song on the album, where almost everyone contributed to the songwriting. USA starts off very calm and beautiful, before the main bassline of the song comes in, which in itself is very intricate. The song follows a very strange structure where it has two ‘’hooks’’, and riffs that showcase the absolute guitar mastery that the band can deliver. Solo by Alexander.
Lyrical take: This song I put in a lot of work with and it’s the pinnacle of my lyrical writing, at least for this album. This song touches upon the horrors that were inflicted upon the Native Americans, and also the Sami people, the indigenous people of Northern Norway, expressing extreme dismay and criticism against the atrocities inflicted.
10. Avarice
Musical take: The one song we actually wrote by just jamming, which one can easily hear in certain parts where the instruments are chaotic, yet totally in line with each other. A somewhat basic song structure, but with highly aggressive riffs and big atmospheric leads. At the end, we transposed the chorus down half a step turning the song into borderline black metal out of nowhere. Started off as a joke, but it worked. The huge twin solo at the end was orchestrated by Alexander.
Lyrical take: Here we are back again with the king-like figure from Majesty, declaring war on everything and itself. The hook is written in the first person from the view of the general greed and hate that lies in the hearts of men. But grimmer. Also a song I focused more on vocal delivery than epic poetry.
==================================================================
STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BAND
1. We once did a festival gig where Brage(bass) couldn’t make it. He was studying in a neighboring town (6hr drive away #NorthernNorway) and his studies didn’t allow him the gig. The band prepared and figured they’d try backing bass track live. 1 day prior to the gig Espen called Brage with a marvelous idea. Espen would bring a 42” TV onstage and skype call Brage. And then they did the gig, with pyrotechnics and everything. Brage just rocked out, with coffee breaks, in his living room right next to his roommate in Tromsø.
Great solution!
2. Another recurring theory (Which all empirical evidence points towards), within Féleth, is that every band has that one “fart-guy”. In Féleth it’s Brage. This scientific research has been done in multiple backstage areas where other bands have been asked, and everyone agreed to the fart-theory. Survey conducted by Féleth.
3. Espen has a massive flight-anxiety and didn’t manage to board the plane to Oslo to play Tons of Rock. Which meant he had a long 22hr drive ahead. The very first stop in northern Sweden was a piss-break and he got bitten by a mosquito bite on the ding dong cuz he was not paying attention. Resulting in an awkward groin rubbing for the rest of the drive.
4. The song Deadlands has never been rehearsed and didn’t have a bass solo before the studio.
5. The name “Féleth” doesn’t actually mean a thing, but Feleth is a common first name somewhere in southern America.
BM L2R: Espen Dagenborg (vocals) – Thomas Nyvoll (guitar) – Alexander Stamnes (guitar) –
Brage Ingrbrigtsen Westgaard (bass) – Aleksander Alsen (drums)
Photo Credits: Dánil Røkke – Nordaførr
Féleth was formed in the late autumn of 2014 when the band IronBound got in Espen Dagenborg on vocals and changed their direction from Thrash-metal to more melodic death metal.
Previously, IronBound had seen some large presentations such as headlining Aronnesrocken 2012 and played after big Norwegian bands like Dunderbeist.
The boys quickly started rehearsing and writing the songs that were later recorded on the EP <<The Covenant>> which they released on January 12th, 2017.
From 2016 to 2020, the band could only be found at festivals and stages in northern Norway, as it quickly became clear that there was a big challenge getting gigs in the south because of the travel costs, etc. when playing a more niche genre.
After many delays, and having established a game-changing work relationship with Christian Donaldson, Féleth released their debut album <<Depravity>> on 22 May 2020, with an early exclusive premiere on Metalinjection. They received overwhelmingly good feedback from Scream Magazine and Metalhammer in Norway and Germany, but apart from a live stream concert organized by Aronnesrocken, there were no concerts or tours due to the covid pandemic.
When the pandemic finally cleared up, the band received the finished masters for their follow-up album <<Divine Blight>>, which was also done by Christian Donaldson.
And to top it all off they won a band competition organized by Tons Of Rock, giving them the opportunity to play at Norway’s biggest rock-and-metal festival, playing with bands such as Iron Maiden, KoRn and Jinjer.
“Divine Blight” is due out November 11, 2022 via Mob Rules Records.
Feleth is:
Espen Dagenborg – Vocals
Thomas Nyvoll – Guitar
Alexander Stamnes – Guitar
Brage Ingebrigtsen Westgaard – Bass
Aleksander Alsen – Drums
Discography:
2020 – Depravity – Album
2017 – The Covenant – EP
Shared stage with
Jinjer, Dark Funeral, Tribulation, Sepultura (Tons Of Rock 2022), Dunderbeist, Ribozyme, Pil & BueFestivals Played
2022 – Buktafestivalen – Tromsø
2022 – Tons Of Rock – Oslo
2022 – Pizzarocken – Alta
2021 – Alta Live – Alta
2020 – Iskald Metalfest – Alta
ashermediarelations.com 