The Southern Oracle’s new album, “The Most Corruptible Souls,” marks the band’s fifth full-length release, and it may just be their best work to date. While the previous album, “Exodus Aesthetic,” was the first to open up a new chapter for them, they believe that “The Most Corruptible Souls” takes things even further down this new path. The band’s fundamental goal has always been to create music that surpasses their previous work, and with this latest release, they feel that they have achieved just that.
From the opening notes to the final breath, “The Most Corruptible Souls,” is a truly captivating listening experience. The band’s mastery of the delicate art of making chaos palatable is on full display, as they deftly blend elements of both metal and hardcore to create a sound that is both raw and refined. This release showcases the IDIOTEQ-featured metallized hardcore four-piece’s talent for balancing hard-hitting hooks with intricate musical arrangements, resulting in a tour de force of modern amalgam of hardcore and thrash infused metal.
Today, we celebrate the premiere of this beast with a special commentary from the band and an insightful track by track rundown below.
The Southern Oracle has put a tremendous amount of effort into their latest album, and they believe it’s their best one yet. The band spared no expense when it came to selecting the right instruments and equipment, as well as achieving the perfect tuning and overall sound. Thanks to their thorough pre-production work and previous experience working with Daniel Ivanfi (Stubborn), the recording sessions went very smoothly. During the mixing stage, the band was meticulous in ensuring every detail was perfect, while still maintaining a raw quality. The analog mastering by Szabolcs Szűcs (Choke City) added an old-school but fresh vibe to the record, which is especially notable in today’s digital age.
“The inspiration to write a record is always come from the actual global political and social issues so every LP, EP or single is a conceptual imprint of a period that led to the release date.” – says the band’s vocalist Barnabás Kókai.
“The title “The Most Corruptible Souls” refers to the biggest vulnerability, the human factor especially in these very dark times. The majority would sell their souls for a temporary grant or to keep a position regardless how it affects not just our future but the present that is in a very bad shape already…the party controlled media and spywares are hypnotising the weak masses that overpowers the rest of us, their fake christian democtratic mentality reached it’s peak in our country (and in many places all around the world) making us feel more and more alone in these desperate days and the wind of change has been quit for a long time.”
Speaking about the cover art, Barnabás admits that he has never worked this passionately and thoroughly on any artwork before.
“I put a huge amount of time just coming up with the concept, structuring it, the right technique and the colours to reflect and represent the message of the album. I adapted to the digital world of art (and music) and made an animated version of the cover where the orange light (colour of our tyrant political party and the fire of our rage) sheds on the empty faced mass surrounding the evil leader of their cult-like way of life as it holds the fake religious symbol that is a disguise of control. This is the most complex and detailed work i’ve ever done.”
Track by track commentary by Barnabás Kókai:
1. PREACHER / agent of a dying god
The opening track always makes the biggest impact so it has to have a very powerful message and this one is about the religious side of the mass hypnosis that is still happening all around the world and it takes a huge part in the brainwashing by making people think if a leader says something it is to be true and questioning it is not right. I think this is a very evil way to treat the people who are in need of guidance and in the recent years we all feel lost, some are more than the others and the tyrants are using these for their benefits.
2. VIOLENCER / lay low or hang high
It’s a concept album so the second track continues the topic of the overpowering leaders’ influence that a can go as far as acts of violence to maintain their positions. Forcing us to bend the knee and don’t question their actions but obey. As their propaganda is perfectly working the masses are supporting them so we deserve what we got…
3. TERRORIZER / unbeaten propaganda
Going deeper in the propaganda topic this ones is detailing the methods of the exploiters how they uphold their reign involving the law enforcement. It encourages you to stand up for yourself and everyone in need of help, trying to stop the meaningless hate even if it means fighting back.
4. LAWGIVER / óvakodj az embertől
The fight escalates and the unprecedented testion rises between people who are more equal than the others. The lyrics are from the holy script written by Lawgiver in one of the most influential films “Planet Of The Apes”. This track features an underground rapper Turan Khan, who’s been in the scene for decades and his mentality is the same as ours only their way of creating music is different than ours but this song created an opportunity to unite our forces and speak up together.
5. ENSLAVER / a choice and it’s absence
As the “Planet Of The Apes” reference swayed the topic to slavery, this track points out the radical aspects of the way of life we’re living in this realm of power hungry people and how they extort every last thing from us, making us go into debts with unforeseeable resolutions, ending up owning us for the rest of our lives without giving us any choice.
6. KINGMAKER / empire of graveyards
Now at this point the record is and unleashed beast, no holding back the tension or any words. It speaks directly to our country about our tyrant leader Viktor Orban who’s copying all the worst behaviour of the other deranged leaders and coming them in his soon to be kingdom quite literally because he’s changing laws and rearranging hierarchy of the political and even social structure of our country and it seems he’s going for the crown no matter the consequences.
7. WOLFTAMER / history shapes us
The unleashed beast is on the loose, “Wolftamer” is about how outdated traditions could ruin our culture and because politics are based on them we need to chance our perspectives to endure these hard times we’re living in and build a better future at least for the upcoming generation but it would go against the interests of the people in charge.
8. WEAPONIZER / planet of the greats
Historical moments of top of each other, this world is going insane, fighting for the power to rule them all makes everyone crazy…The tension of the over the roof and literally a war broke out in our lifetime and it still goes on but we have to hold on and get through together.
9. PAYMASTER / the most corruptible souls
As everything feels wrong they’re still kicking us, forcing their will down on our throats. The so called help they offer to keep up the appearances are merely temporary and it cannot go on like this much longer we are desperate need of change but there’s no sign of that in the horizon. The second half of this closing track suppose to make you feel the loop we’re in, converging voices of Orban and Chaplin’s part as the dictator. We need to find a way out.
