After 20 years of relative silence, last month, Brodequin returned with the announcement of their long-awaited fourth album. Today, the Brothers Bailey and their punishing new drummer are releasing the second torturous single off Harbinger of Woe.
Listen to "Suffocation in Ash" below.
Harbinger of Woe comes out March 22, 2024.
Pre-order: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/brodequin-harbinger-of-woe
Pre-save: https://orcd.co/harbingerofwoepresave
There's a reason why metalheads from every underground fiefdom recognize Brodequin as the most brutal band in all of death metal. After all, they did take their name from the most wicked torture device that any peasant has had the misfortune of receiving.
Brodequin's whole discography is culled from the bloody annals of medieval history, but the source of inspiration behind their new single dates all the way back to ancient Persian history. "Basically, the victim, who's held in a tower that's specifically designed for this sort of thing, is immersed in ash", explains Jamie Bailey, who honed his morbid curiosity for the Middle Ages as a college history student.
But don't just take his word for it. "Suffocation in Ash" treats unsuspecting spectators to an unflinching account of this real life torture chamber. Mike Bailey churns the riff like a giant wooden wheel, condemning even the sorriest of sinners to a hail of ash. Fellow executioner Brennan Shackelford continues to reign down a merciless torrent of blast beats and pinging cymbals long after their prisoner has been brought begging to one shredded knee.
"Silence. Liar", Jamie gurgles, as if echoing the guilty conscience inside their poor beaten skull.
"I sought to shed light on an execution method rooted in antiquity", Jamie says about the concept behind "Suffocation in Ash". "This specific technique often escapes the attention of those intrigued by these kinds of historical practices. Lyrically, my aim was to transport the listener into the vivid depiction of the scene I attempt to portray".
"Among the myriad methods employed, a prominent example was the affixing of an individual to a pillar, or, more commonly, a tree trunk through the use of long iron nails".
That's Jamie Bailey, talking in true Brodequin fashion about the very first single from Harbinger of Woe.
"Of Pillars and Trees" is classic Brodequin. Mike's riffs churn like severed limbs through a meat grinder. Brennan pings his cymbals with all the murderous intent of a spiked mace. Heck, the death growls are nasty enough to make you think that Jamie is sucking the blood of his enemies through a straw.
Watch the medieval video for "Of Pillars and Trees", which was created by Matti Way of From the North Films: https://youtu.be/yh7awqeuZJQ
Photo by Jacob Smith
After signing with Season of Mist in 2022, Brodequin re-issued their entire discography on LP and CD.
"Relentless, barbaric intensity" - John Gallagher (Dying Fetus), who named Instruments of Torture one of the most brutal albums ever.
"Kicks in like a sledgehammer" - Metal Rage raved over Methods of Execution
"A merciless massacre" - Power Metal praised Festival of Death.
Order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/BrodequinReisssues
Stream:
https://orcd.co/brodequin-methods
https://orcd.co/brodequin-festival
https://orcd.co/brodequin-torture
The Middle Ages might’ve brought the world out of The Dark Ages. But for every compass or printing press, those enlightened thinkers were also responsible for inventing the most torturous devices in human history. None were more brutal than the brodequin. Not only did the French use this instrument to cripple their victims, but to squeeze their legs to the point where bone marrow would spill out of their wounds.
You could say the same about Brodequin. The band come with their own long and sordid history. Brothers Jamie and Mike Bailey have been playing brutal death metal since 1998. Putting his history degree to good use, Jamie’s lyrics are inspired by real historical events, staying true to death metal’s core thematic pillars of dismemberment, torture, abuse and murder. But their artwork broke from genre’s generic splatter illustrations by digging into intricate period woodcuts and beautifully grotesque oil paintings.
“There simply was no point in history that was more brutal than the medieval period,” says Jamie. “At the same time that such barbarity was deployed, there was also an explosion in fine art, architecture and music. It all comes to feed our identity as a band”.
Brodequin’s first album catapulted them far beyond their kingdom of Knoxville. “This band has stuck out in the underground with relentless, barbaric intensity”, says Dying Fetus’ vocalist and guitarist John Gallagher, who named Instruments of Torture one of the most brutal death metal albums ever. Festival of Death put another flesh-tearing arrow in their quiver (“Some of the fastest, most brutalizing death metal ever recorded” - Sputnik Music). But after sieging festival stages across Europe with Methods of Execution, the band had to be put on ice.
“We had a series of deaths in our family”, Jamie explains. “Mike and I knew we had to step away until we had the time and were at a place mentally to give Brodequin the attention it deserved.”
Now, after 20 years of peaceful silence, Brodequin have returned with fresh instruments of torture. The Brothers Bailey are back with a new drummer, a new label and their long-awaited fourth album.
“Brodequin had been away for so long that I was stunned by the level of interest from fans and record labels”, Jamie says. "Before playing Hellfest, the band was approached backstage by a metalhead rocking a Brodequin t-shirt who happened to work for Season of Mist. Soon enough, they were hitting it off with Michael Berberian. The rest, as they say, is history.
“We all hung out for hours”, recalls Jamie. “The extraordinary level of enthusiasm shown toward our music made Season of Mist the obvious choice”.
As has been the case with this band for their entire career, Harbinger of Woe lives up to its name. Lead single “Of Pillars and Trees” is classic Brodequin. Mike’s distorted guitar chords churn like limbs through a meat grinder. The way Brennan Shackelford pings, blasts and flays his snare through “Suffocation in Ash” with the all encompassing speed of a sandstorm. Jamie’s growls are so phlegmy, so rotted, that to drag them out from whatever dark bowel movement spawned them would make an executioner sick to their stomach. And yet — somewhere deep inside all that carnage hides a terrifying beauty. The title track leaves you deaf, dumb and blind, begging on your knees in the face of a punishing, almighty riff.
“This album is a journey into this lost period of history where brutality and beauty coexist. Beauty, in the arts the were created, but also the beautiful brutality that was needed to engineer deadly devices like the brodequin”.
With Harbinger of Woe, Brodequin reclaim their throne as the most brutal band in all of death metal.
Line up:
Jamie Bailey: Bass/Vocals
Mike Bailey: Guitar
Brennan Shackelford: Drums
Recording
Drums recorded at Brennan's Drum Room in Dallas, Texas.
Guitar, bass and vocals recorded at Navarre 24 in Harriman, Tennessee
Producer and sound engineer
Mike Bailey
Mastering studio and engineer
Brad Boatwright
Mixing studio and engineer
Josh Welshman
Artwork
Original artwork done by Jose de Brito.
Additional elements by Jamie Bailey.
Pre-order: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/brodequin-harbinger-of-woe
Pre-save: https://orcd.co/harbingerofwoepresave
Links:
www.brodequinofficial.com
www.facebook.com/brodequinTN
www.brodequin.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/brodequintn