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NE OBLIVISCARIS Stream New Track ‘Misericorde I – As The Flesh Fails’
March 21st, 2023

Melbourne, Australia-based progressive extreme metal band Ne Obliviscaris have made the track ‘Misericorde I – As The Flesh Fails’ available for streaming, which can be accessed below.

“We present to you Part 1 of 2 of our 16 minute+ epic ‘Misericorde’, a song that delves into the subject of dealing with terminal illness. It’s about your body betraying you, the inner battle both physical and mental (and the range of emotions that come with it), which eventually becomes apparent to others as your health deteriorates letting your armour fall away.”

Ne Obliviscaris issue fourth full-length studio album Exul on March 24th, 2023 through Season Of Mist.

Exul was produced, mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis in Nashville, Tennessee, with co-production from the band. Drums were engineered by Mark Lewis at Addiction Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, with additional drum engineering by John Douglass. Drum parts were laid down in March 2020, then drummer Daniel Presland (Presland would ultimately amicably leave in early 2022) returning to Australia only hours prior to Australia shutting their borders due to the Covid pandemic. Fellow band members had been due to arrive in Nashville in the following days to further recording sessions.

The extra, unexpected downtime allowed Ne Obliviscaris to fine-tune and even re-write parts previously set in stone before the pandemic. Tim Charles’s violin solo at the end of “Graal” is an example, the track revisited in early 2021 and Charles devising a new part. “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,” said 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.”

Bass was recorded at Domination Studio, Italy by Simone Bertozzi and Simone Mularoni, while acoustic guitars were recorded at Bud Studios, Merignac, France by Mathieu Pascal.

Harsh vocals were recorded at Audio Ninja Studios in Melbourne, Australia by Troy McCosker, meanwhile. Violin and viola on all tracks and clean vocals on tracks 5 and 6 were recorded and engineered by the same Troy McCosker at Pony Music in Melbourne, Australia. Clean vocals on tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4 were recorded at Studio TC in Melbourne, Australia, meanwhile, whereas additional clean vocal engineering was handled by Anthony Iorio. Rhythm guitar parts by from members Benjamin Baret and Matthew Klavins were recorded in their home studios in France and Australia, and re-amped by Mark Lewis in Nashville.

Exul included contributions from guest musicians. Additional violin on tracks 1, 2 and 3 were performed by Emma Charles, while additional vocals on track 1 performed by Alana K Vocal. Cello on tracks 1 and 4 were performed by Dalai Theofilopoulou, meanwhile.

Exul was finally mixed and mastered in July 2022.

“Our approach is always the same,” said 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.”

‘Misericorde I – As The Flesh Fails’ and ‘Misericorde – Anatomy Of Quiescence’ are described as Exul’s centrepiece.

“The bulk of Part I was written more so by Benji and Martino,” noted 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’ violin parts on Exul are ‘taken to another level’, according to a press release. “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,” Charles said. “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, meanwhile, came to frontman Xenoyr when he was summing up the album’s feeling musically and lyrically. “I think everyone at some point has felt at odds with the world around them, felt alone, cast out, or misunderstood,” said Xenoyr. “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 continued. “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.”

Cover artwork was designed by frontman Xenoyr.

The track listing is as follows:

01. ‘Equus’
02. ‘Misericorde I – As The Flesh Falls’
03. ‘Misericorde II – Anatomy Of Quiescence’
04. ‘Suspyre’
05. ‘Graal’
06. ‘Anhedonia’

Ne Obliviscaris’ recording line-up was as follows:

Xenoyr (harsh vocals)
Tim Charles (clean vocals and violin)
Benjamin Baret (lead guitar)
Matthew Klavins (rhythm guitar)
Martino Garattoni (bass)
Daniel Presland (drums)

A collector’s edition version of Exul includes a Live In Melbourne Blu-Ray performance, recorded on May 10th, 2019 at 170 Russell. Limited to 2,000 copies, the item also features Exul on CD, a 16-page booklet, and a unique media book with a mount-it-yourself acrylic box, figurine and logo.

Directed and produced by frontman Xenoyr, a music video was filmed for the track ‘Equus’. “‘Equus’ is dedicated to the lives lost during the lethal bush fires that scarred Australia in 2019-2020,” Ne Obliviscaris commented. “Alongside the people who died or were affected, many millions, if not billions, of animals were killed or displaced from their natural habitats, the enormity of this is something that will never be forgotten, and should not be ignored. It is also a warning that the world we live in is changing from the damage we as a species have contributed to. Within this video, the dancer represents a scorched Mother Earth, from horror to humanity, ever in tune with the heart and flow of the song (and world), and ultimately aware of the inevitable and ever growing destructive cycle we are in.”

In addition, a music video was filmed for the song ‘Graal’. Also, a dual guitar and bass playthrough video was released for the same track.

Taken from the Live In Melbourne Blu-Ray, a live performance video was released for the track ‘And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope’. “This live performance video features audio that is almost completely unedited,” the band said. “It’s brilliantly imperfect. A genuine and an authentic representation of what our shows are like. This concert Blu-Ray is a great example of how deeply we care about our music and the connection between ourselves and the audience. It’s six people that have worked for years (decades even) at their craft coming together to bring our music to life for audiences across the world and we are so excited to get back to doing that in 2023. We hope you enjoy this taste of NeO’s Live In Melbourne Blu-Ray.”

All four clips can be viewed below.

Third studio record Urn was released in October 2017 via Season Of Mist.