Brisbane prog-metal band, The Stranger launch their new single ‘Divine Intervention’ this month as a precursor to their forthcoming debut album: due out next year.
With the album release still some months away, guitarist Kalen Austin says the band are eager for fans to hear the new music as soon as possible. “We don’t have a date set [for the album release] as yet but it’s going to be in the first quarter of 2017,” Kalen says.
“It's really exciting for us; it's been a couple of years in the making and this album is the result of a few years’ worth of work and we really want to get it out in front of people. We're really proud of what we’ve achieved on it and we can't wait to show everyone.
“That's why everyone was so stoked to release ‘Divine Intervention’ as a single. It may not be the full album and to be honest it's not even super-representative of what the rest of the album sounds like, but it's still something and people get to hear it.”
‘Divine Intervention’ recounts the fictional tale of a warrior pushed to the brink of madness. “It’s the story of a titan who was the right arm of a council for a long time and eventually came to question the orders he was given,” Kalen explains.
“He went slightly insane over time as a result of the things he was asked to do and eventually he turned on his masters and fought against them. The song is about that change in perspective and going insane.”
The single launch will be an extra special night for the band as it marks the debut appearance of a new band member. While Kalen is reticent to reveal too much too soon, he assures fans they can look forward to seeing The Stranger in their new line-up. “The big thing that's happened to us recently is our good friend and second guitarist left the band recently,” he explains.
“As much as it sucked, it made the most sense for him, so in the last couple of months we’ve had to find a new guitarist and work at getting him up to speed on the new songs.
“That's what where we've been putting most of our effort into at the moment; he's fit in really well and he's picking up the material very quickly. A lot of our stuff isn't necessarily very easy to play, and we have long songs, a lot of different parts and styles in those songs, so we needed someone versatile and he's done a good job at picking it up.”
In the world of prog-metal, it’s rare to come across songs which clock in at under five minutes and Kalen freely admits The Stranger is no exception, begging the question: is it possible to write a prog-metal song that fits the stringent three-and-a-half-minute radio format. “We often ask ourselves the same question,” Kalen laughs.
“It's tougher than it sounds, I’ve actually tried a couple of times but it's a weird thing. Maybe as a result of having listened to so much progressive music and having that immediate expectation, but sometimes we just don't feel like it's done until a certain point and by then it just happens that it's seven or ten minutes long.”
The Stranger launch ‘Divine Intervention’ at The Triffid (Brisbane) 22 December.
