Finnish progressive metal band SIMULACRUM released a new single “Arrhythmic Distortions” and a music video consisting of studio material. The song is the second single off their upcoming album “Genesis,” released on February 12th, 2021, via Frontiers. Watch the music video below.
The album is a stunningly strong statement for the progressive metal world with hard-hitting melodic progressive metal paying homage to the great prog bands of the ‘70s without forgetting to blend in the best elements of the genre’s current direction.
The roots of SIMULACRUM go back to 1999 when Christian “Chrism” Pulkkinen started writing his first batch of songs, which a few years later would end up on the band’s debut album, “The Master and the Simulacrum” (2012). In 2015, the band’s sophomore album, “Sky Divided,” a concept album revolving around a classic “War of the Worlds” type story with an alien race attacking planet earth for its resources, was released. The album was a big evolutionary step for the band, with some straightforward power and thrash metal tunes joining 10 minute epics that payed homage to the prog giants of the ’70s and ’90s.
The album was a bit more polished compared to the debut, from how the songs were performed to continuity throughout the album. As with the debut, SIMULACRUM received quite a bit of praise in the metal media and showed that they were becoming a force to reckon with. After the release of “Sky Divided,” the band started the process of enlisting some new members in the creation of their next album. SIMULACRUM parted ways with drummer Henri Kallio and enlisted Tatu Turunen as their new drummer. The band also started thinking outside of the box and instead of having one frontman, they decided to make the move to have two lead vocalists. After extensive auditions, Erik Kraemer was chosen to join the band. He has a tone that varies enough from original frontman Niklas Broman‘s style and also has the range required to sing the sometimes very difficult vocal lines, which makes for a perfect combination between the two.
The band then slowly started putting together ideas for a new album, the demos for which caught the attention of Frontiers Music Srl, who snapped up the band for a multi-album deal.
Tracklist:
1. Traumatized
2. Nothing Remains
3. Arrhythmic Distortions
4. Like You, Like Me
5. Scorched Earth
6. Genesis Part 1: The Celestial Architect
7. Genesis Part 2: Evolution Of Man
8. Genesis Part 3: The Human Equation
9. Genesis Part 4: End Of Entropy
Line-up:
Niklas Broman – Vocals
Erik Kraemer – Vocals
Christian “Chrism” Pulkkinen – Keyboards & Orchestrations
Nicholas “Solomon” Pulkkinen – Guitars
Petri Mäkilä – Guitars Olli Hakala – Bass & Chapman Stick
Tatu Turunen – Drum Set & Percussion
