On the eve of their European and UK ‘The Carrion Tour’ dates, HUNTSMEN have today released their new EP, The Dying Pines, via Prosthetic Records. The Dying Pines features two new original songs and a cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s Carry On, with the EP serving as the first glimpse of new material since the Chicago, IL bands 2020 full length, Mandala of Fear.
The Dying Pines is available on digital, as well as cassette (limited to 100 copies worldwide) – available exclusively via Bandcamp.
LISTEN TO THE DYING PINES EP
via Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, Bandcamp and Spotify
Speaking on the EP release, Marc Stranger-Najjar (bass / vocals) comments: “The journey in creating this EP has been particularly special for us. We thank everyone for their support up to this point, and are thrilled to share such a raw piece of ourselves with you all.”
The hiatus from regular band activity saw HUNTSMEN return to their roots as a band, writing on an acoustic guitar and leaning into the narrative storytelling found on their debut full length, American Scrap. An invitation from Roadburn festival in the Netherlands to perform American Scrap in full at the 2022 edition of the festival gave them cause to revisit the songs that saw the band strike out with an Americana-metal sound that has been woven throughout their body of work.
A collaborative approach to the songwriting has lent itself well to blending the strengths of the individual band members, as well as allowing space for threads of their own personal stories to to make their way into the sonic tapestry of new tracks, The Dying Pines and Let The Buried Lie Forgotten. The rich instrumental layering and warm vocal harmonies are a vessel for conveying bleak themes of loss and existentialist contemplation. Once again, the evocative cover artwork has been created by drummer, Ray Knipe, complementing the organic sound of the EP, which was recorded at Electrical Audio/Hypercube studios by Sanford Parker, and mastered by Collin Jordan (The Boiler Room).
Elements of the post-apocalyptic vibe of Mandala of Fear find their way into this new EP, but The Dying Pines sits outside of the story arc present on the band’s full lengths – a vignette that lets us know the heart of this band still beats strong, and offers a hint of what’s still to come.
Upcoming HUNTSMEN shows:
The Carrion UK and Europe Tour
24 April – Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NL
29 April – The Crofters Rights – Bristol, UK
30 April – Corporation – Sheffield, UK
1 May – Desertfest – London, UK
3 May – Star and Garter, Manchester, UK
4 May – Attic – Glasgow, UK
Tickets to HUNTSMEN‘s live dates are available here.
The Dying Pines tracklist:
1. The Dying Pines
2. Let the Buried Lie Forgotten
3. Carry On (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover)
HUNTSMEN is:
Aimee Bueno – Vocals
Chris Kang – Vocals, Guitars
Marc Stranger-Najjar – Bass, Vocals
Kirill Orlov – Guitars
Ray Knipe – Drums, Vocals
Rock Nightmare 