MUMBAI: Nine cities in the country will witness a brutal Death Metal assault from 9 December to 26 December, by Aizawl based veteran Death Metal band- Third Sovereign, in support of their latest to be released full length album ‘Perversion Swallowing Sanity’. Signed under Mumbai based label Transcending Obscurity, the physical copies of the album will be released on 9 December 2015 in India, and on 15 January 2016 internationally. The ‘Blood and Roots’ India tour and the album mark the comeback of Third Sovereign after a hiatus of eight years. Joining the tour will be Shillong based death metal act Plague Throat of Wacken fame.

The nine-track album features previous hits like ‘Devolution of Mortality, and ‘Sarcophaga’. Released as a single, ‘Sarcophaga’ was nominated in the Best Metal Song category at the 2009 Rolling Stones Metal Awards. With a strong title like ‘Perversion Swallowing Sanity’ the album talks about a perverted society and mindset that people are living in, resulting in the extinction of sanity. “The title is heavy and catchy. Metaphorically, it can be perceived in many ways, it is mostly about the perversion within an individual or society. Also the wars and terrorism going on just shows the sickness in society’, averred vocalist Vedant Kaushik.

The first track titled ‘Sakei Ai Hla / Grave of Humanity’ is an intro, but treated as a song. It is a war cry of the Mizoram community and sung in the Mizo language. “The track is an ancient legend, in which a Mizo warrior tried to tame a wild cat but failed, subsequently being mocked. Soon came another fearless warrior, who went on to kill the beast, and made a cry so powerful that it was heard miles away by other clans. This act sent a strong statement to other clans warning them of dire consequences if they ever attacked. It was his testimony of his strength and his will. Kaushik explained that the North East is blessed with many ethnic and indigenous communities, and the track has that ethnic flavour.

Third Sovereign laid the foundation for this album in 2007, but eventually went on a hiatus. The band shifted base from Aizawl to Delhi in 2013, however, decided to move back to their hometown as Kaushik had to look after some business, and bassist- Jonah Hnamte had some personal reasons. “We were in hibernation mode but it is great to be back. We are extremely happy with the sound on the record. This is a pure unadulterated honest death metal album. It has a dash of old school metal but still the signature Third Sovereign sound. In spite of all the movements in the death metal genre we have stuck to our roots. The tracks are much faster and more brutal, but keep the Third Sovereign sound intact. All tracks have their own identity and flavour,” Kaushik added.

The album was recorded at Vortex studios in Aizawl, Mizoram, co-owned by Reuben Pachuau (Drums) and the artwork and inlay has been designed by Massive Brain, also from Aizawl. In terms of song writing, the band maintained a simple and organic process, ensuring that it retains the human element in the tracks. "Reuben (Drums) and Benjamin (Guitar) lay the foundation and I come up with free style vocals. Jonah (Bass) comes in later and fills up the tracks with his bass. After that come a few edits and arrangements, and then the final track is recorded. It is mostly on the fly, very smooth and simple. We prefer maintaining the human touch on the tracks versus modern day technologies in music,” explained the singer.

With regards to the tour, Third Sovereign and Plague Throat will be joined by a host of other metal acts like Elemental, Gutslit, Inner Sanctum, Eccentric Pendulum and many more at different venues. This is also the first time that two North-East bands are touring pan India. “We are very excited about this tour, playing live in nine cities after a long time feels great. It is very difficult getting sponsors and putting up such a massive tour but we have worked very hard on it. This is how the metal scene will grow; when bands play in regions they have not played at before. We are also in talks for few international gigs in 2016,” Kaushik said.

The tour is a mix of indoor and outdoor venues, where in Guwahati, Shillong and Imphal will be outdoor venues. Bengaluru event management company- Sound Awake is co-managing the tour with local hosts in each city. Indo-Argentinean production house Toadlabs is responsible for bringing a new dimension to the live scene with the use of holographic installations and animation technologies, which is the first of its kind in India. A special tour documentary will also be recorded and will be released in 2016.