Finnish death-sludge heavyweights Black Royal have unveiled “Extremophiles”, the third and heaviest single yet from their upcoming album Abyssian, out October 30 via M-Theory Audio. The icy video was directed once again by Markus Vähäaho of RAW-ART Creations.
The song dives into one of oceanography’s most unsettling phenomena: underwater brine pools, hyper-saline lakes at the bottom of the sea where almost nothing survives, except for extremophiles, microorganisms adapted to live in those lightless, toxic conditions.
“We tried to capture the pressure in the seabed and the weight of the water into that song as well as the coldness and silence of the deep… An ultimate survival story happening in the deepest underwater lake. How more ‘metal’ can you get?”
Riku
Abyssian
Following “Water of the Crow” and “Drown The Seaweed”, “Extremophiles” completes the water-themed trio of singles ahead of Abyssian. The album was recorded at Studio Watercastle with Arttu Sarvanne, mixed by Jussi Kulomaa and mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde, and delivers a streamlined take on the band’s blend of Scandinavian death metal and blackened sludge, or as they put it, “what if Clutch played Entombed?” Pre-orders on digipak CD and limited blue vinyl are available from the M-Theory Audio webstore and Black Royal’s Bandcamp.
About Black Royal
Formed in Tampere in 2013, Black Royal released Lightbringer (2018), Firebride (2020) and Earthbound (2022), earning a reputation as one of Finland’s heaviest exports.
Riku: vocals
Toni: guitar
Janne: keyboards
Dimmu: bass
Jukka: drums
Photo credit: Scarlett Memony Photography
