Tigerleech’s new album Bicephalous, out April 18 via Octopus Rising and Argonauta Records, marks a shift for the French quartet. After over a decade in the heavy underground scene, the band trades much of its earlier stoner influence for a leaner, more pointed sludge-metal direction—raw, socially charged, and built on heavier foundations.
Formed in 2013, Tigerleech first cut their teeth on EPs in 2014 and 2017, then solidified their presence with The Edge of the End in 2019. Melancholy Bridge followed in 2021, bringing a more melodic layer to their sound and landing them spots at Hellfest Off Festival and Napalm Festival.
Bicephalous, recorded at Hybreed Studios with Andrew Guillotin, arrives with a new dual-guitar lineup and a broader dynamic range. It’s a record that balances structure and collapse—hooks crash into grind, and melody emerges only to be drowned again in distortion.
Lyrically, the album doesn’t retreat from confrontation. The track “Hara-Kiri of the Capitalist Model by Its Own Users” points to the tone: political, skeptical, unsparing.
The band explains the title as a metaphor for duality and contradiction. “There’s a conflict in the way we live and the systems we rely on,” they say. “The music reflects that—something massive, sometimes clashing against itself.”
Tracks like “321 Ignition” and “The Art of Do It Yourself” stretch the band’s sound wider, without losing weight. “We wanted every song to carry its own identity, not just sonically but in meaning,” they add.
The album’s eleven tracks trace anger, doubt, and defiance, but also moments of restraint and reflection, like the short interlude “Feeble…” leading into the slow burn of “…Again.” It’s not polished or dramatic—it’s deliberately abrasive, and structurally unpredictable.
