Unleash The Archers Announce AI Inspired Concept Album

02-13-2024

(Napalm Records) Unleash The Archers are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of their transfixing sixth studio release, the AI inspired concept album Phantoma, out May 10, 2024 via Napalm Records.

The new album follows the band's breakout 2020 album, Abyss, which won the JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year after debuting at #1 on the US Current Hard Music and Top New Artist charts.

Frontwoman and lyricist Brittney Slayes conjured Phantoma's concept in 2021; before the swarm of pressing commentary surrounding AI began to reach an all-time high. Led by the album's protagonist Phantoma, a Phase 4 / Network Tier 0 unit - model A, the story recounts the trials of AI gaining sentience on a dystopian, near-future planet earth. With the band's one-of-a-kind blend of power metal, traditional heavy metal, modern prog and pop sensibilities, Unleash The Archers spin a web of sharp musicality, high sci-fi concept and important social commentary about discovering the brutal truths behind the manufactured sheen of social media posturing.

Today's album announcement kicks off with the release of its first single, "Green & Glass" - an unforgettable opus traversing the album's dystopian concept with dynamic verses and prog-laden guitar work. Its innovative accompanying music video features Phantoma discovering new and harrowing realities, and was created using AI while still supporting traditional artists by having character models trained exclusively on a body of work licensed from artist Bo Bradshaw.

Unleash The Archers says about "Green & Glass": "We struggled for a while to decide which song would lead the way for this record, and in the end chose 'Green & Glass' because it is the song that inspired the cover artwork, but also because it doesn't give too much away about the concept behind the album. We wanted nothing more than to be able to create a fully cinematic retelling of the story through our music videos, and were so stoked when the boys at RuneGate Studio expressed an interest in learning how to use Stable Diffusion to make our dreams come true! They trained the model on the work of Bo Bradshaw, which gives it a beautifully unique animation style; we got to bring his magnificent t-shirt artwork to life!"

Phantoma track listing:
1. Human Era
2. Ph4/NT0mA
3. Buried In Code
4. The Collective
5. Green & Glass
6. Gods In Decay
7. Give It Up Or Give It All
8. Ghosts In The Mist
9. Seeking Vengeance
10. Blood Empress

Phantoma will be available in the following formats:
-Earbook Edition with 2CD (2 Bonus Tracks and instrumental version of the album), 7" Single (2 bonus tracks on Black vinyl), 60 pp booklet (Napalm Mail Order only - limited to 1000)
-2LP Gatefold in Marbled Orange Red with 24 page vinyl booklet and artprint (Napalm Mail Order only - limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Glow In the Dark (Napalm Mail Order only - limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Splatter Aquamarine Orange (Napalm International Mail Order only - limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Transparent Lime Green (Napalm North American Mail Order only - limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold in Silver (North American indie retail only - limited to 700)
-2LP Gatefold in Black
-Cassette Tape Edition in Fluorescent Green with White Print (Napalm Mail Order only - limited to 200)
-Jewel Case CD Edition
-Digital Album