Kevin Muller [vocals], Wes Hauch [guitar, vocals], Tim Walker [bass], and Zach Dean [drums] — will release their new EP, Death Is But a Door on January 12 via Nuclear Blast.
They have just shared the video for the title track. It was directed by Juan Carlos Escobar Salazar.
The plot-driven video traces the mental and emotional descent of a man against an apocalyptic urban backdrop. Trigger warning: The video does include scenes of gun violence.
The best of us carry a dormant horror,” the band says about the track. “The very worst of us still have a heart.”
The director also chimed in, saying, “Ever since I heard Alluvial’s Sarcoma, they quickly became one of my absolute favourite bands. As a musician myself, I was blown away by their technicality, brutality, and their devastating wall of sound in their songs. So when my friend Mada Fleming introduced me to Kevin Muller literally a couple months ago, he mentioned the possibility of collaborating on a music video for a song in their upcoming EP. I was more than thrilled! Through a phone call, Wes Hauch and Kevin gave me the premise of what they had in mind for the video. After knowing what their vision was, I reached out to the incredibly talented actor, writer, producer, and director Nickolas Jacobs and through a lot of work and ingenuity, we delivered a piece that encapsulates the vision of the band and the atmosphere of the song. As a cinematographer, I had a lot of fun creating this; as a musician and a huge fan, it was an honour being part of this project with Alluvial and Nuclear Blast Records.”
Darkness and despair are a breeding ground for creativity in the right hands. Since their inception in 2017, Atlanta-based band ALLUVIAL have embraced the grim and gloom that the world has to offer through an intricately balanced blend of rapid-fire polyrhythms, haunting, sludgy atmospheres and tightly wound grooves. The band takes a stab at creating an even more sinister sound than their previous album, Sarcoma, Death Is But a Door.
“We wrote about 13 or 14 songs this summer, but we wanted to do this EP between Sarcoma and our next full-length. These songs align with the vibe we want to go for. We will always find a way to be darker from record to record in the same way that South of Heaven was heavier than Reign In Blood and Seasons In The Abyss was heavier than South Of Heaven,” says Hauch. “It was that concept of chasing the dragon to find a way to top the message and vibe on the last record while finding a way to do it that made us excited.”
After releasing their instrumental debut full-length, The Deep Longing for Annihilation, the band hit the road. Although the album has racked up millions of streams, there was always an intent to add a vocalist to their following releases. Hauch had begun writing what would become Sarcoma in 2018 and recruited Muller, knowing his vocal prowess from the vocalist’s time in SUFFOCATION.
Bringing Muller into the fold immediately elevated the band’s sound, but Death Is But a Door shows the synergy that the band has developed from working as a cohesive unit over the last few years.
Although the band’s mission is to drive into bleaker and heavier territory with each new release, they manage to bring balance to their sound. While they remain grounded in death metal, the band’s approach finds them exploring all of their influences. From traditional thrash like PANTERA or METALLICA to darker grunge like ALICE IN CHAINS or SOUNDGARDEN and everything in between, ALLUVIAL aim to keep listeners on their toes by pushing beyond the realms of death metal.
“I wanted to have a band where we can write meaningful yet action-packed songs. Something that is terrifying but breaks your heart at the same time. I think we’ll always chase that, but we want to find new ways to be heavy,” says Hauch.
With the band’s members being as ingrained in the death metal scene as they are — with members previously playing in THE FACELESS, SUFFOCATION and more — listeners can rest assured they’ll be met with plenty of brutality throughout their music. The twists and turns into clean passages, atmospheric ambience, or any of the other musical avenues explored throughout ALLUVIAL‘s music take them over the edge and invite listeners to return and find something previously undiscovered.
