Moment Of Collapse Records was one of the first DIY labels I interviewed for then refreshed edition of IDIOTEQ, and after 11 years of prolific DIY work it’s still going strong! After numerous impressive releases in recent years, including recently featured HEXIS, and STORM{O}, the Hamburg based label is back with yet another engaging offering, the third album from German post metallers RED APOLLO! Today, we’re thrilled to premiere the record’s title-track “The Laurels Of Serenity“, along with a quality music video above!
With “The Laurels Of Serenity”, RED APOLLO has further developed their sound and combined their post-metal with progressive and black metal elements with fresh ideas. For the last 7 years, the Hamburg based quartet has maneuvered between hostile and beautiful territories, repeatedly redrawing the borders of experimental, progressive, blackened post metal. The smart channeling of their ideas and the rich nature of “The Laurels Of Serenity” is what makes it sound like a breath of fresh air. Stay tuned, as the CD/LP/LP-Box/Digital versions will be released on April 27th via Moment Of Collapse Records (pre-order HERE).
Here’s what the band had to say about the mythological concept of “The Laurels Of Serenity”:
All the different pathological fears are humane conditions that everyone has to deal with in life eventually. The obsession and preoccupation with these dreadful feelings was already thematized by the ancient Greeks and found its personified place in mythology. Phobos and Deimos represent fear and terror and are the sons of Ares, the god of war. Both assist their father devotedly and help him by putting horses in front of his chariot before each campaign.
This ancient scenery has not only influenced the design of the album cover but also the video for the title track‚ The Laurels of Serenity‘! The female protagonist is engrossed by profound anxiety and only finds relief when finally dominating and leading one of Ares’ fear-bringing horses.
The modern world increasingly lacks of steadiness and becomes an epitome of movement and change. Music as an art is already affected by these recent trends resulting in a growing number of artists that embrace a fleeting lifespan and play by the rules of a volatile industry. RED APOLLO are different in this aspect. Seeing the seventh year of existence after several physical releases and almost 150 lives shows including touring with BLACK TUSK and HEAVEN IN HER ARMS, the members do not have any plans to slow down. Instead, REDAPOLLO are set to release their third full–length ‘The Laurels of Serenity’ on the 27th of April 2018 via MOMENT OF COLLAPSE RECORDS. The album merges eight songs that were created and recorded throughout the past two years thematising the band’s confrontation with the full spectrum of pathological fears.
Music-wise, RED APOLLO once again wander with diligence and aspiration in the realms of atmospheric Post-Metal that draws on influences ranging from Metal to Hardcore and Crust. With such a rich background, ‘The Laurels of Serenity’ sounds thick and massive with a precision and rawness that serves as glue between the soundscapes that every single song evokes. The songs were recorded by Falk Andreas at Tonmeisterei in Oldenburg and Dominic Paraskevopoulos at Level3Entertainment Studios in Essen. Mix and Master were also done by Dominic Paraskevopoulos.
RED APOLLO live shows:
27/04/18 GER Troisdorf JKC
28/04/18 GER Hamburg Droneburg Festival
29/04/18 – GET IN TOUCH –
30/04/18 – GET IN TOUCH –04/05/18 GER Dortmund FZW
09/05/18 GER Siegen Vortex
10/05/18 – GET IN TOUCH –
11/05/18 CH Zug Industrie 45
12/05/18 IT Bolzano TBA
13/05/18 GER Munich Sunny Red
14/05/18 GER Berlin Zukunft am Ostkreuz
15/05/18 GER Weimar Gerber3
16/05/18 GER Stuttgart Juha West
17/05/18 GER Nürnberg Z-Bau
18/05/18 – GET IN TOUCH –
19/05/18 BEL Antwerpen Antwerp Music City
