Louisiana duo RADIANT KNIFE will independently release their sixth record, Sankalpa, on November 13. The instrumental title track, which runs past the eight-minute mark, premiered today at Decibel Magazine.
Stephen Sheppert (guitars, synth, vocals) and Greg Travasos (drums) come out of the deeper, weirder end of Louisiana's heavy music, a long way from the EYEHATEGOD and CROWBAR swamp most people know. Their reference points are the mid-'90s Relapse, Hydra Head and Amphetamine Reptile catalogs, and Sankalpa follows 2023's Pressure.
The new album keeps the off-kilter grit of its predecessor but leans harder on groove, melody and layering: stacked guitar overlays, synth atmospheres, floating vocals. The press materials name-check HUM and ELDER alongside older touchstones like DAZZLING KILLMEN and KING CRIMSON. The duo call it their most melancholic record so far, one that moves from "grim acoustic ballads to brooding math metal riffs" and pulls all of their tangents into "a cohesive otherworldly vibe."
The title track, they say, is the instrumental centerpiece and the best snapshot of the album's mood. It starts in the math-metal territory of KEELHAUL and DAZZLING KILLMEN before collapsing into what the band calls "a pummeling riff mantra" with Floydian guitar lines hovering on top. The word itself comes from Sanskrit and means a vow or deep inner resolve.
Sheppert recorded, mixed and mastered Sankalpa at Starless Sound; the artwork is by Terry Grow. The album will be available digitally on all streaming platforms, with preorders open on Bandcamp.
Sankalpa tracklist:
- Amber Waves
- Crystal Oscillation
- Disciple Of The Astral Plane
- Down On The River Bank
- Sankalpa
- Consciousness As The Foundation Of Reality
- Bewailer
- Through The Heliopause
- Bones
- On The Mend
Order & Stream "Sankalpa": Bandcamp · Decibel premiere