How do you describe an enigma? In the case of THE GREAT DISCORD, certain words come to the fore: Cinematic. Grandiose. Haunting. Soaring. Devastating. Unique. But still, it is perhaps impossible to paint a vivid picture of the Swedish unit, whose layered, textured music gets under the skin and is as likely to conjure exhilaration or a sense of poignancy in the listener as it is a profound and deep seated unease. September 18th marks the release date for the Echoes EP. Echoes contains edited versions of two tracks that appear on THE GREAT DISCORD‘s most recent full-length, Duende.
The 5-track EP (released on Metal Blade Records) also contains an acoustic version of current single “The Aging Man” and cover versions of “Inertiatic E.S.P.” by The Mars Volta and “Cherry Waves” by The Deftones. It is currently available via all major digital retailers. Additionally, the video for the acoustic version of “The Aging Man” that appears on the Echoes EP received a premiere HERE.
THE GREAT DISCORD explains: “This acoustic version of The Aging Man was in a way an experiment for us, as the song in its form on the album is a very twists and turns type metal song. The original song is, to us, a kind of blue print for our album Duende. It carries with it bits and pieces of everything we tried to achieve on the album.
“The experimentation when making this version consisted of us, breaking down the song to it’s most fundamental form, and from there making sure the song worked even without the pyrotechnics of a modern metal production. We could not help ourselves of course to experiment a little with the harmonies and chord shapes but essentially this is The Aging Man performed simply with a piano and vocals. Incidentally, this is a very useful approach when writing songs in general. If its not convincing with a single melodic instrument the song might still need some work. In the end we found ourselves very happy with the result and decided to share it with all of you.
“In the video, we wanted to echo (hint) this visually. So, the obvious choice was to have a very simple video. A mellow and non epileptic type, with toned down, simple colours. A single take of Fia, performing the song in the studio where we recorded the EP. We do hope you like it.”
Fans can purchase “Echoes” in iTunes and Amazon, today.
THE GREAT DISCORD initially came about as a result of the relationship between lead singer Fia Kempe and drummer Aksel Holmgren. Although they’d known one another for many years and connected for many years, it was only when they came together to form THE GREAT DISCORD in 2013 that their collaboration began. Sharing an interest in progressive music, they count the likes of Genesis and King Crimson as well as contemporary acts such as Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan among those who have inspired them. At the same time, individually they look up to a diverse array of musicians beyond the confines of this genre, which broaden the musical base they are working from, and from the start the duo were not interested in merely regurgitating their influences.
With a sound rooted in weighty, contorted metal with Kempe’s formidable, beautiful vocals soaring above the mechanized tumult, they constantly shift between tones, moods and dynamics, and they simultaneously challenge and seduce the listener, eluding easy pigeonholing. “We both have very specific ways of writing and we complement each other very well. The first song we worked on came together in a day, and straight away we could see that we were onto something special,” says Holmgren. Recruiting guitarists André Axell and Gustav Almberg alongside bassist Rasmus Carlson the band evolved into a fully-fledged entity, all of whom share the same passion and devotion.
While music pundits and critics will fall over themselves trying to label the unique and intriguing sounds of THE GREAT DISCORD, the band members are more interested in presenting their music to the world, with the hope of making a profound musical connection with the likeminded.
“We obviously want to take over the world,” Kempe smiles. “We really believe in our vision, we really believe in the concept behind everything that we do. We want to entertain people. We want them to come to our shows and experience everything that we have visualized for this band, and we want them to relate to the emotion that we’re putting into our songs, to be able to find something in THE GREAT DISCORD that they cannot find anywhere else.”
