External is an eclectic metal act based in Parkano/Tampere, Finland. Having their roots in traditional thrash metal, External have since abandoned the idea of genre boundaries and are drifting towards more diverse and progressive spheres. These young musicians approach music with open minds and the greatest of passion. Now in 2018, they are ready to share their debut album with like-minded, adventurous listeners.

Previously, External have released a few notably thrash-influenced demos and singles. Their first full-length album, The Blurry Horizon, is a diverse musical journey with a relatively wide scale of influences. While having a large gap between the musical extremities and different moods, the album still maintains a certain level of coherency by using repeated motifs throughout. Partially exploring somewhat progressive and perhaps complex spheres, the song material still doesn't sacrifice accessibility, making it enjoyable for many kinds of listeners.

Lyrically, the album discusses human nature in the modern digital age - our relationship with phenomena such as social media and artificial intelligence. Despite the obvious benefits of these things, when digging deeper to the subject, some definite ugly sides are revealed. Whereas technology is moving fast forward, that might not be the case for humanity as a species.

Tracklist

1. The Escapist (4:25)

2. I Through Eyes Can See (4:00)

3. Parasight (6:36)

4. Rusting Out (8:35)

5. Slave of One's Own Creation (6:07)

6. The Beautiful Void (6:56)

Gazelle Twin releases her eagerly anticipated, acclaimed new album, Pastoral on Anti-Ghost Moon Ray this Friday, September 21 and has announced a series of live dates. Described by The Quietus recently as “… easily the most haunting performance of the festival, if not the summer”, Gazelle Twin’s live shows include a co-headliner with Gaika in Brighton on October 11, and Somerset House on November 16, part of their Assembly series.

Told through a troupe of multi-gender voices, in vernaculars old and new; from the shrill echo of folksong to tabloid-tinged jaunts, the artist presents the notion that “there is horror in every idyll, and danger lurking beyond the ‘quaint’”. The village square - once host to centuries of public torture - becomes a floral framed postcard, dolled-up for the Summer Fête. A sunny, afternoon walk over the hills unsettles a cloud of angry flies feeding from unidentifiable remains. Bigoted vitriol gently murmurs amidst tearoom chatter, as the neatly framed pastoral picture dissolves into a solemn ennui.

Forged in a rural idyll in Middle-England and four years in the making amidst life-changing events, including a move far out of the city, Pastoral will be the first major release by Gazelle Twin since her widely acclaimed LP, Unflesh (2014, Anti-Ghost Moon Ray), and is seamlessly on-theme, together with Bernholz’s J.G. Ballard-inspired A/V show ’Kingdom Come’ (soundtrack released November 2017, Anti-Ghost Moon Ray) - a fascism-infused hellscape, this time set in deepest Old England.

GAZELLE TWIN LIVE

22 Sep - Station Narva Festival, Narva EE

27 Sep - Rough Trade East instore, London UK

3 Oct - New Theatre, Warsaw PL (Kingdom Come performance)

5 Oct  - Soup Kitchen, Manchester UK

11 Oct - Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton UK, with GAIKA

16 Nov – Somerset House, Lancaster Rooms, London UK