Playgrounded release The Death Of Death on 18th March on Pelagic Records.

Having played with big neo-prog acts like Riverside, Playgrounded are no strangers to the outer limits of the contemporary merging of rock and electronica. Their upcoming album The Death Of Death, released on 18th March, features compositions based on dynamic sound design structures by main composer Orestis.

Greece has spawned countless instances of criminally underrated music acts in diverse genres ranging from black metal to electronic to avant-garde pop music, and the sophomore album of modern progressive metal act Playgrounded is yet another striking example.

Playgrounded’s sophomore album lives up to the aspiration of its lofty album title. The death of Death is music that results from mastery rather than lacklustre exploration and experimentation. The album was recorded at MD Recording Studios by Nikos Michalodimitrakis, long collaborator of Stavros in film productions. Mixing was handled by C.A.Cederberg (Leprous, Shining, and more) in Kristiansand, NO, while the album was mastered by George Tanderø (Madrugada, Satyricon, Jaga Jazzist, and more) in Oslo, NO.

The result is a collection of songs that reveal Playgrounded as composers in the act of decomposition. The memorable guitar riffs and vocal melodies serve as gateways to a deeper layer of glitchy synth textures and liquid drumming until the perspective of radical decomposition consumes one whole. “The shortest sound units become extended themes,” explains main composer Orestis Zafeirou. “Steady rhythmical blocks interact with unstable ones. Noise becomes tone and melody. Sonic grains gather to form masses, masses dissolve into a single entity. With every repetition, comes change.”

On The Death Of Death, Playgrounded analyse and take apart their surroundings, reducing reality to its smallest components, subsequently converting them into sound to create a new platform – a representation of reality from which they build their artistic vision. In essence The death of Death is dialectical, a study of unity in opposition. A disclosure of contradictory aspects of reality, an expression of their mutual relationship. From these contradictions, the band manages to construct a brooding world of dark magnificence. The death of Death has the appeal of a film score that slowly starts to haunt you as the movie progresses. The more you listen to it, the more its sublime beauty becomes apparent.

LINEUP 

Odysseas Zafeiriou – Bass 

Michael Kotsirakis – Guitars 

Stavros Markonis – Vocals 

Orestis Zafeiriou – Synths / Sampling 

Giorgos Pouliasis – Drums

Here’s current single The Swan:

Pre-order the album now –  https://listen.pelagic-records.com/playgrounded

FFO Karnivool, Katatonia, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Moderat, The Ocean, Vola, Leprous, Skyharbor,

Playgrounded online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube

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