Baroque-influenced, post-black metal duo Mortal Thrall today unveils a new video for “A Path To Fire,” the title track off their forthcoming debut full-length, now playing at Nine Circles.

Mortal Thrall was forged in September 2020 by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Todd Harris (ex-Oubliette, Battle Path). Spontaneously conceptualized, written, and recorded over lockdown, A Path To Fire is an emotive fresco of intertwining guitar lines, stunning chord progressions, passionate vocals, textural synth, and martial drumming which evolved from Harris’ obsession with Renaissance paintings.

Thematically set in the last days of the Spanish Inquisition, the album tells the story of one of the final victims – Maria de los Dolores Lopez – murdered by the church for “heresy” and whose story was buried by the Vatican until the early 1990s. Harris felt compelled to pay tribute to her horrendous fate, seeing disturbing parallels in the still-pervading influence and authority of religious power in the modern world which has been a personal point of contention throughout his life as a gay man.

Writes Nine Circles, “[Mortal Thrall] takes the post-black elements we’re familiar with and wraps them in far-ranging layers, whether it be classical harmonies from the Baroque period or modern electronic synth to add tonal punctuations to their fierce sound… Bathed in a fiery orange glow, the video for ‘A Path To Fire’ is ripe with religious iconography in between the band performance, and that’s not there for decoration. Conceptually the album addresses the increasing grip of organized religion and its persecution of anyone not in line with its rhetoric… Further tying together the conceptual themes of the album with the visual palette and religious symbols is something more fundamental; namely, the classic videos Harris grew up with, solidifying his love for metal.”

Notes Harris, “When talking to the director Malcolm Pugh about the direction that I wanted the video to take, I was thinking a lot about the videos you’d see from the Peaceville label back in the early ‘90s. Those sort of abstract Gothic metal videos that sort of put you into their world. I feel like that was definitely achieved here while highlighting some of the key points surrounding the track.”

A Path To Fire will be released on May 20th via Trepanation Recordings on CD, cassette, and digital formats.

Influenced by the likes of Blut Aus Nord, Bathory, Liturgy, Katatonia, Kauan, and Alcest as well as post-rock acts like Shiner, Hum, and Dead Now, and featuring a sterling drum performance by Jack Blackburn (Chaos Moon, Skáphe, Gardsghastr), A Path To Fire is a strikingly elaborate, richly-layered debut. The eight-track offering was recorded in Seattle, Washington, Houston, Texas, and Murfreesboro/Nashville, Tennessee, mixed by Mike Low (Inferi, Oubliette, Arkaik, Enfold Darkness), and mastered by Zak Denham at One By One Studios. The record comes cloaked in the outstanding cover art of Caelan Stokkermans.

Naarm/Melbourne-based, gender fluid rapper Sophiya, shares new single, “Kween Energy”, featuring New Zealand’s finest JessB, and produced by JUJO. The unapologetic queer anthem encompasses the duality of the divine feminine and masculine, an all-inclusive ode that radiates fearless energy. Spelt with intension, “Kween” has become a popularized word within the LGBTQI+ community, representing femme identifying people, combining the King and Queen.

On the creation and influences behind the track, Sophiya expands, ‘I was obsessed with Lil Kim – La Bella Mafia at the time. After listening to so much Lil Kim, I only naturally wanted to embody this powerful, fearless energy, just like the Queen B herself. I was inspired to create my own archetype, ‘KWEEN’ and thus ‘KWEEN ENERGY’ was born.

The song is in your face Hip-Hop and stands for women/femme identifying people who can be bosses in their professional life and confident in their sexuality and personal life.

It has a boom bap/head knocking beat and a fearless energy that really gets under your skin. The beat starts off with menacing keys and heavy drums and it is almost expected that the beat will continue with a strong male vocalist. As soon as it comes in with a femme vocalist, the energy flips and the listener is instantly hooked and intrigued.

On the experience of collaborating with JessB, Sophiya adds; ‘It was important for this song to have two femme identifying Hip-Hop artists to show power and union, but also to keep the fierce, feminine energy and powerful message alive. I have been a big fan of JessB’s for a couple of years now. I have been inspired by her music and moves in the industry and got my first speeding fine when I heard her feature on the song for the first time.’

JessB is no stranger to delivering on high energy tracks, on the collaboration she adds; ‘Was dope to work with Sophiya on this track. As soon as I heard the demo, the energy both in the beat and delivery was infectious & I knew it was going to be a lot of fun to be a part of’.

On the incredible creation of the artwork, Sophiya explains; ‘My mum hand painted the artwork which took her well over 6 months to create (she is still adding to it as we speak). The style is religious, Byzantine art – (Greek Orthodox). The canvas stands almost 2 meters tall and not for sale. She intended on it being a family heirloom. I want to have a gallery in my house showcasing her art as her legacy.’

Miki Ratsula has built a sizable audience by openly and honestly welcoming people into their world and is set to release their debut album i owe it to myself on March 25 via Nettwerk Records – a deeply intimate record that touches on mental health, loss, love, and everything in between. The album from the Southern California-based nonbinary singer, songwriter and producer is an acoustic pop dream guided by Miki’s lush, lofi-inspired production that captures the full emotional seesaw that rocks between youth and adulthood.

They recently shared “sugarcane,” their latest single celebrating the effortless joy of love, and features their friend and occasional songwriting partner, Los Angeles-based musician Dana Williams. “sugarcane” follows the release of several early album singles, including the raw, personal single “second” which deals with their fears and anxiety around getting top surgery; “reeboks” which is about feeling so anxious about the future that they end up running themselves into the ground; “i walked a mile in my room” which discusses their mental health struggles and its impact on the people close to them; and “suffocate,” their powerful track that they recorded with Sanderson and released in the fall of 2021.

i owe it to myself is a testament to self-love and a gift to anyone seeking the same, and sees Miki at their most vulnerable and fully realized. They use their platform to candidly document their life: from coming out to getting top surgery to their mental health journey. It’s the kind of storytelling that listeners, especially young queer kids, crave and deserve. “I just want to be the artist I needed growing up,” says Miki, and that’s exactly who they’ve become on this heartfelt and impressive debut record. Throughout the record, Miki effortlessly floats between R&B slow jams and acoustic numbers laced with sensual groove, and some of the album’s more powerful moments exist in the soft, nostalgic spaces in between, which often deal with the pain that lives behind closed doors.