The wait is over. Switzerland’s reigning, defending heavy weight champions of emotionally charged Nu-Core brutality - Paleface Swiss - have dropped their highly anticipated and most ambitious album to date, ‘Cursed,’ today. To mark the occasion, the band has also released music video for brand new track, “River of Sorrows.” This deeply emotional track offers a powerful glimpse into the album’s dark and cathartic narrative Fans can stream 'Cursed' in full now HERE and can watch the music video for "River Of Sorrows" below.
Each track on ‘Cursed’ is represented by a flower with symbolic meaning, which when combined, form the “River of Sorrows” is paired with the Purple Hyacinth, a flower representing sorrow, regret, and forgiveness. “River of Sorrows” delivers a visceral exploration of the weight of sorrow, despair and helplessness caused from being trapped in an unhealthy relationship. The track’s lyrical vulnerability is matched by its crushing intensity, underscoring the unrelenting emotional journey of the album and cementing it as the band’s most ambitious and conceptually intricate work to date.
Frontman Marc “Zelli” Zellweger explains,
“‘River of Sorrows’ is about the emotional weight of betrayal and the drowning feeling of being trapped in a one-sided connection. It’s heavy in every sense of the word—musically, lyrically, emotionally—and it’s a piece that feels deeply personal while also being universally relatable. We wanted to bring those feelings to life in a way that would truly resonate with listeners.”
The band's upcoming third full-length, ‘Cursed’ is a masterclass in modern brutality and encapsulates two years of creative exploration and raw personal experiences for the Paleface Swiss members. The band retreated to the seclusion of the Canary Islands to craft this sonic juggernaut. Collaborating with Ron Steven Deris at Misueno Studios and with long-time collaborator Florent Salfati (Landmvrks) helping to add the finishing touches, their work culminated in an album that marries the band’s signature heaviness with intricate conceptual storytelling.
The first single from the album, “Hatred”, was released in September and was recently included in Loudwire’s coveted ‘Best Rock & Metal Songs of 2024’ list and nominated for “Angriest Song of The Year” in Nik Nocturnal’s popular annual awards. The track delivering the perfect blend of bombastic nu-core swagger, incendiary rapid fire vocals, thrash-inspired guitar solos and the pummeling rhythmic section the band have become globally renowned for. The band then threw fans a huge curveball with second single "My Blood on Your Hands", which was also nominated in the Nik Nocturnal Awards 2024 for ‘Best Animal Noise'. Third single, "Love Burns" was released in early December and set the internet ablaze with praise for the dynamic song writing displayed on the track along with the band's fearlessness when it comes to pushing themselves out of their sonic comfort zone and making bold choices that definitely pay off, balancing their signature heaviness with an emotionally charged narrative and new, expansive sonic elements. To date, the 3 previously released singles have run up 3,200,000 cross-platform streams and 659,000 YouTube video views.
Speaking about the release of 'Cursed' today, Paleface Swiss collectively share
“Cursed is the piece we’ve always wanted to create. We set out to craft a cohesive concept with our music, videos, and artwork and we're very proud of the outcome. The process of making this album has been therapeutic in ways we didn’t anticipate, and we’re beyond excited to finally share it with the world. We hope to see you at a show on our upcoming headline tours and have you sing these tracks with us”
The North American run of The Cursed Tour kicks off on March 20th in Detroit, MI and will see Paleface Swiss headline 30 shows across the country hitting major cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto with special guests Stick To Your Guns and Nasty. Tickets and full routing can be found HERE
Known for their incomparable live performances and fearless approach to intense and vulnerable topics, Paleface Swiss has built a reputation as one of the most vital, unfiltered and rapidly rising forces in the world of modern metal today. With ‘Cursed’, Paleface Swissare ready to take listeners into their darkest, most intricate and artistically diverse chapter yet, combining their trademark deathcore heaviness with raw vulnerability, a rare and special combination for a band within their genre. With a brand new album, an ever-growing army of devoted fans, critical acclaim, sold-out headline shows and stellar festival performances garnering new fans wherever they go, Paleface Swiss have their sights firmly set total, global domination. Stay tuned, buckle up and kick back for the ride.
ABOUT PALEFACE SWISS
Since the release of their first album, 'Chapter 3: The Last Selection', independent outfit, PALEFACE SWISS have gained international recognition throughout the Deathcore and Beatdown Community. Known for their huge, aggressive riffs, brutally bombastic rhythm section, frontman, Zelli's outstanding vocals and a pinch of humor. This is Switzerland’s finest heavy music. Across their catalog, the band have gained 110 million streams, 21 million YouTube views on their own channel, and recently peaked at 1 million Spotify monthly listeners.
‘Chapter 3: The Last Selection’ was released on October 30th 2020, spawning four huge tracks “Curse Us”, “The Rats”, "Lights Out" and “Skalpell” which quickly ranked high in the beatdown/hardcore charts and saw the band become cover stars on Spotify’s Heavy Beatdown playlist.
In 2022 the band released their second full-length album 'Fear & Dagger'. The album was widely considered a huge step up for the band as plaudits began to roll in for frontman Zelli's vocal ability and the band's unflinching commitment to never shy away from brutally heavy riffs, face-melting technically insane guitar solos, punishing beatdowns or from facing difficult, emotional topics head on. Metal Injectionaccurately summed it up in their review by saying, "It's fun to get caught up in Paleface's unrelenting instrumentals, but Zelli's really the star of Paleface. This is largely because he treats his screams like rap bars." New Transcendence stating "Paleface have created one of the most emotionally relevant and intriguing beatdown releases to date" and Wall of Sound calling it "an unashamedly brutal and angry album".
The album shot the band into the upper echelons of the "New Wave Of Deathcore" and spawned singles "The Orphan", "Deathtouch", "Dead Man's Diary" feat. LANDMVRKS frontman Florent Salfati and fan favourite and stylistic curveball, "My Grave / Lay with Me". The album focused on more mature and critical topics related to the fears and struggles young people have to contend with in the 21st century, most importantly, the topic of mental health.
The ensuing 2 years saw the band's popularity sky-rocket. Honing their craft in the live arena, the band rapidly jumped from strength to strength, creating what is now one of the most thrilling and impactful live shows in modern metal. Their ability to win over any crowd, wether it be their own headline shows, touring the US with the likes of Body Snatcher or The Ghost Inside, touring the UK with the likes of Counterparts and Kublai Khan or at globally renowned festivals such as Sick New World, Hellfest Open Air, Summer Breeze, Cabaret Vert, Dynamo Metal Festival and more, one thing is for sure, Paleface Swiss will turn an audience into fans by the time they're done at every show they play.
To support their largely sold-out touring efforts, the band released a series of stand alone singles, "Best: Before Death" - now a staple and firm fan favourite in their live set list, "Please End Me" and "The Gallow".
Now, with the impending release of their third full-length album, 'Cursed', Paleface Swiss are set to write the next chapter or their incredible, epic journey as they reveal their most thematically and sonically ambitious album to date. Never pulling punches when it comes to heaviness, technicality or emotional vulnerability, Paleface Swiss are rewriting the rulebook on what it means to be an extreme metal band.
PALEFACE SWISS Are:
Vox: Marc “Zelli” Zellweger
Guitar: Yannick Lehmann
Bass: Tommy-Lee Abt
Drums: Cassiano 'Cassi' Toma
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