Sojourner have unveiled their next chapter with their upcoming EP, Perennial, out June 4th via Napalm Records. The group’s forthcoming effort will feature new vocalist Lucia Amelia Emmanueli and Tom O’Dell on second guitar/backing vocalist. To celebrate the melancholic black metal outfit’s new direction, the band has shared a video for the song “Perennial.”
Vocalist Emilio Crespo comments:
“With wanting to revisit the old style of Sojourner I decided to tap into our roots on a lyrical level. ‘Perennial’ very much follows the thread of nature and it’s loss at our very own hands. This theme was prevalent in several songs on our first album so it made sense to revisit that. The vocals were meticulously worked on with Lucia to make sure that every single word worked in its tone and placement. Later, with Tom joining in on backing vocals at the very end, we truly felt happy with the end result.We are super excited about our future with our two new awesome members!”
Mike Lamb adds:
“When I approached the songwriting for this mini EP I wanted to do something special that encompassed both where we began and where we are today, because while we’ve grown and changed over the last 6 years we still have the same passion and vision for the band that brought us together initially. I approached both the songwriting and recording for this EP in the same way that I did on Empires of Ash and The Shadowed Road, even down to recording all of the instruments back in New Zealand again for the first time since we began, in the same room where I wrote ‘Heritage of the Natural Realm’ in 2015.
It also seemed like a fitting time to do something that sat somewhere between a reinterpretation of ‘Heritage…’ and a sequel of sorts for the second EP track, ‘Relics of the Natural Realm’, bringing our 2015 beginnings full circle back to where we are now and the band that we’ve evolved into in 2021. This is reflected in the cover art, again by our good friend Jordan Grimmer who did the original Empires of Ash cover, showing the meeting of SOJOURNER both past and present. We couldn’t be happier with our incredibly talented new members, both of who turned in absolutely beautiful vocal performances, and we’re so excited about the bright future ahead for the band.”
Watch the clip below and pre-order the EP here:
Track List:
01) Perennial
02) Relics of the Natural Realm
