New Zealand-based, Polynesian heavy metal outfit, Shepherds Reign, announce the impending release of their eagerly anticipated forthcoming album, Ala Mai, due on 25 August via Golden Robot Records. The album carries universal themes of life, love, family, and culture, presented through the band’s unique and vivid allegorical storytelling, combining epic tales of Pacific Island mythology with a distinct, dynamic and propulsive metal edge.
This formula is perfectly captured on Ala Mai’s strikingly graphic cover art, which features a blindfolded Polynesian warrior (Chief Tafa Ai’i) in a howling rage, mid-battle cry, adorned with a tribal necklace while grasping traditional weaponry.
This is indeed heavy metal with a difference. Shepherds Reign’s songs are loaded with references to the band’s rich cultural heritage, giving extra dimension to each massive missive.
“Nafanua”, the new single from Ala Mai, due for release on 4 August, is a story about the titular character, Samoa’s Goddess of War, the daughter of the God of the Underworld (Pulotu), who was born of a blood clot and buried in the ground, before rising to defeat all warriors who stood against her. Fighting to protect her family, she was feared by all. The track’s pulverising rhythms, heavy chugging riffs and snaking lead guitar all serve to underpin lead vocalist, Filiva’a’s trademark enormous, guttural roar, while the soaring, melodic chorus belies the story’s immense sense of foreboding. Despite the song consisting heavily of local lore, its broader messages sink in deep.
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The video for “Nafanua” will be released alongside the single on 4 August, and is set to match the album’s earlier videos, which have become a thing of independent heavy metal/hard rock legend, with “Le Manu” having amassed 3.1m Youtube views and its Double-A companion, “Aiga”, racking up 450k+ views. Various teaser videos displaying aspects of the iconic weapons from the single and album art are online now.
Check out an earlier single, “Ua Masa’a”, below.
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