With a debut show sharing stages with Redhook & The Dead Love under their belt, Brisbane progressive-metal prodigies Citadel have today unveiled their second single, ‘Parasyte’. A cathartic and stirring track, detailing the harrowing slew of emotions guitarist Nat Patterson dealt with during the ending of his engagement, coinciding with the death of a close family member. Forced to return to his parent’s home, it details the breadth of emotions he felt during this time period; ranging from deep sadness, to burning frustration.
A moving track that begins with singer Russell Miller’s musings atop a singular piano, ‘Parasyte’ reaches a chorus crescendo with the driven guitars of Liam Kelly kicking in alongside drummer Dane Pulvirenti’s syncopated rhythms.
Citadel launched prior to debut single ‘Sundered Souls’, with the quartet becoming close after touring, performing and recording alongside previous projects Osaka Punch, Wildheart andBayharbour. Combining, they got to work immediately, channeling djent, post-metal and hard rock influences, with a proclivity for work of composers Nobu Uematsu (Final Fantasy OST) and Jack Wall (Mass Effect OST). ‘Parasyte’ was recorded with Gareth Hargreaves (Polaris, Young Lions, The Brave), who helped to mold the song from a barebones idea, to the fleshed out and layered piece heard today. Trusting his ear, Hargreaves also handled the track’s mixing and mastering.
Nat Patterson of the band explained, “Parasyte was written at a very dark time in my life, following the end of an engagement and the death of a close family member as well, and is one of the only songs we have where I also wrote the lyrics. Parasyte tackles the complex and harrowing feelings I felt directly after my fiance and I broke it off. I had moved back to my parent’s house to kind of “start over”, and was enduring feelings ranging from deep sadness to burning frustration and anger at how things had turned out.”
Liam Kelly added, “Working alongside Gareth was fantastic, particularly on Parasyte where there is such a heavy emphasis on the piano parts. Having something with the knowledge and skills to turn our rudimentary ideas into something massive (the layered vocals in the chorus being a perfect example) was excellent and we are stoked with the end product.”
Having now introduced themselves to the audiences throughout Brisbane and Australia, Citadel has a string of upcoming performances, sharing stages with Voyager, Semantics and more in the coming months. With more music in their back-pocket, it is only a matter of time before they become a household name across the Australian heavy music landscape.
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