Brisbane locals Citadel display both their prog metal nous and melodic brawn on the soaring debut Sundered Souls premiering today via Maniacs.
Having combined through a joint passion for heavy music, songwriting & the pursuit of pushing their personal creative boundaries, Citadel unveiled their prolific lineup via the debut single Sundered Souls premiering exclusively via Maniacs today. Joining forces after a multitude of shows, tours and sessions together in previous acts (Osaka Punch, Wildheart & Bayharbour), the esteemed Brisbane creatives combine to form a quintet, poised to unleash their talent and vision before spreading their progressive metal & melodic brawn fusion across borders and throughout Australia.
Sundered Souls floats through an ambient and mysterious introduction, building underneath Russell Miller’s immaculately clean vocals, before dropping into a djent-influenced, riff-laden chorus - sparking urgency & trepidation in listeners, before ultimately resolving in a wave of purifying catharism. Whilst blending post-metal and metalcore elements, Citadel also nods towards the work of composers Nobu Uematsu (Final Fantasy OST) and Jack Wall (Mass Effect OST).
Working closely with renowned Brisbane local Gareth Hargreaves (Polaris, Windwaker, The Brave) the band were able to channel their individual influences, before combining and being flawlessly guided by Hargreaves, who has a guiding hand for creating alternative-rock & progressive-metal masterpieces. Taking lessons from each of their previous individual projects & releases, the five-piece were able to work to combine their collective experiences to create Sundered Souls a song that stands as an impressive debut release.
Citadel guitarist Nat Patterson shared his thoughts on the composition of the song and its artistic intention with Maniacs.
"Writing the song, most of the songs on the record really, started in a place of sadness and regret. For Sundered Souls, I envisioned the song being towards the end of the record, so I tried to carry on the sorrowful mood but inject the slightest bit of hope or positivity in some of the musical themes. The main repeating synth line heard in the chorus is intended to convey a sense of relief, and even power, like the subject of the music, is finally feeling like they have some element of control back to their chaotic life."
Citadel surpassed the initial vision and expectation for the track thanks to a fruitful creative partnership with Hargreaves.
Guitarist Liam Kelly reflects on working with Hargreaves.
“Working with Gareth Hargreaves was a brilliant experience. We had put a lot of work into the record leading up to this point with lock-in sessions building the framework of the record to the best of our ability, but once we had Gareth on board it was like lifting the veil off of the potential each of these songs had."
Vocalist Russell Miller reveals that the process of writing the song opened his mind to the complexity of a breakup.
“Lyrically, I wanted to express a few emotions based on a previous relationship. The song began with blaming myself for everything because I was told that it was my fault, progressing on to realizing that I was also a victim, and ending with a decision to separate myself from the drama and move on. I chose to use art metaphors partially to tell a story differently to how I'd heard it told before, but also to acknowledge the good & the bad simultaneously, rather than a simple "Boy good, girl bad" outlook because it's rarely that simple.”
With more than just Sundered Souls in their back pocket, this is just the beginning of the Citadel story, with the band ready and eager to share stages, new music and their journey with audiences across Australia in 2022. With a pedigree as illustrious as their own individually, combining will undoubtedly see Citadel become a name on the lips of heavy music fans across the country.
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