Italian symphonic death metal masters Fleshgod Apocalypse today released their long-awaited new album Opera. The album, which is out now via Shinigami Records/Nuclear Blast Records, is the band’s sixth album and features a collection of intense, driving tracks directly inspired by vocalist Francesco Paoli’s near-fatal mountaineering accident in 2021.
Today, Fleshgod Apocalypse also reveals a turbulent music video for the album ‘Morphine Waltz; a glimpse of what the band is capable of in their live performances.
Commenting on the track, Paoli says:
“‘Morphine Waltz’, the visionary song par excellence, has a much deeper meaning, which goes beyond its lysergic atmosphere. It is, in fact, a true hymn to science, which has once again proven to be the only reality that counts.
But this track is also a perfect demonstration that our new line-up is on a whole new level, highlighting Veronica's incredible versatility in addition to Eugene and Fabio's insane technical skills.
After some cinematic music videos, we wanted to pay homage to another essential, if not the most important, dimension for the band: the stage. Performing intense and truly theatrical live performances allows us to create a direct and unbreakable bond with our fans. And our upcoming North American tour will be the most theatrical of all.
Friends, today is the day! Let's not waste any more time with words and let the music speak for itself.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ‘Opera’!”
Opera is structured as a 10-act theatrical piece, as the title suggests, drawing a clear thread through the timeless tradition of classical Italian musical theatre and combining it with the epic brutality of symphonic death metal that has become their signature sound. Mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Arch Enemy), Opera definitely marks another step forward for the band, incorporating new suggestions to that unique mix that Fleshgod Apocalypse is known for: pure violence, majestic orchestrations and soaring melodies. Such an ambitious musical undertaking required an equally impressive work of art, a team effort between two emerging Italian talents (the extraordinary artist Felicita Fiorini and visionary photographer Francesco Esposito), following the path blazed by Baroque painters such as Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi. The cover portrays Veronica as Music, a higher entity that defeats the social and artistic decadence of the modern age.
With this new album, Fleshgod Apocalypse, is raising the bar even further, pioneering a completely new subgenre that could be called “Opera Metal”: an unprecedented mix of extreme music and theatrical elements.
