Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
The Colorado metal crew that is Necropanther is preparing to release their ambitious conceptual album ‘Eyes Of Blue Light‘ on February 23rd.
The album will unfurl a connecting piece of heavy metal, inspired by none other than the classic 1965 Frank Herbert sci-fi novel Dune. The band is sharing a track, “Imperium Overture“, from the album today as well.
‘Eyes Of Blue Light’ was captured at Green Door Recordings in Denver by Felipe Patino (Rise Against, NOFX), and mixed and mastered in Gothenburg, Sweden by melodic death metal mastermind Frederik Nordström (Dimmu Borgir, At The Gates, Arch Enemy, In Flames etc.).
Most people are familiar with the source of musical inspiration used here, Dune. The novel (and later film) is set in the distant future, amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the Padishah Emperor. Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis.
As this planet is the only source of the oracular spice mélange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe, control of Arrakis is a coveted-and dangerous-undertaking. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire face each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.
Necropanther vocalist and guitarist Paul Anop commented the following on the record and concept:
“We’re proud that this album showcases the diverse songwriting abilities of everyone in the band. When we went for a more melodic project, we knew that Nordström was the perfect person to bring it into focus, and we got exactly what we wanted.“
Eyes Of Blue Light Tracklist:
02. Good As Dead
03. Gom Jabbar
04. Kiss Of Darkness
05. Hunter Seeker
06. Shai-Hulud
07. Weirding Way
08. Fedaykin
09. Water Of Life
10. House Atomics
11. Feyd-Rautha
12. Strange Gods
Necropanther will play a special record release show on February 24th, book-ended by two one-off shows, with more live dates in the planning stages. See all confirmed dates below.
- 1/19/2018 Streets Of London Pub – Denver, CO w/ Bodies We’ve Buried, Morgue Whore
- 2/24/2018* Hi-Dive – Denver, CO w/ The Munsens, Abrams (*NECROPANTHER Record Release Show)
- 3/17/2018 Herman’s Hideaway – Denver, CO w/ Doyle, MF Ruckus, Lotus Gait, Radio Scarlet
