Portland, Oregon-based progressive sludge metal outfit LORD DYING today unleashes their monolithic new single, “The Universe Is Weeping,” alongside its accompanying video. the track comes by way of the band’s new studio album, Clandestine Transcendence, set for official release January 19th, 2024.

Notes Olson on single “The Universe Is Weeping,” We are very psyched to premiere the opening track and video for ‘The Universe Is Weeping’ off our upcoming album.    This song picks up directly where our previous album leaves off.  Post death.  Blazing beyond the cosmos and outside the realms of consciousness.  Total dissolution of the self.  Into Clandestine Transcendence.”

Adds Maucere, who directed and produced the video, “When asked to direct the video for ‘The Universe Is Weeping,’ I couldn’t help but tackle the concept of the Cosmic Calendar. For instance, the Universe’s birthdate is January 1st. Life on earth = Sept 30th. Human history is Dec 31st at 23:59:57. We consume everything in our path as our sources of energy, some of which have been on earth for over 600 million years. If the past can tell us anything about life, a new life form could come along one day that decides that they can house us, raise us, and overfeed us to become their most preferred source of energy. Or we could just destroy each other before that day may come, which seems more likely to me.”
 

On Clandestine Transcendence, LORD DYING co-founders Erik Olson (guitar, vocals) and Chris Evans (guitar) are joined by Alyssa Maucere (former bassist for Eight Bells) and Kevin Swartz (current drummer of Tithe). Produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou (High On Fire, Code Orange, Kvelertak) at his God City Studios, the twelve-track offering steps even further into the great unknown, filled with riffs and vibes.

Clandestine Transcendence picks up where 2019’s critically championed Mysterium Tremendum left off.  Latin for “awe-inspiring mystery” or “terrible mystery” depending on one’s view of existence, Mysterium Tremendum began a narrative centered on a central character the band calls The Dreamer. Olson describes The Dreamer as an immortal being who wants to die. On Clandestine Transcendence, part two of a planned trilogy, he gets that wish. “This one is about what happens beyond death,” the frontman explains.
 

Clandestine Transcendence will be released on January 19th, 2024 via MNRK Heavy on CD, LP, and digital formats.