EPK – Vortex – The Future Remains In Oblivion (2023)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
For fans of Shadow of Intent, Septicflesh, Dimmu Borgir, Fleshgod Apocalypse
“âThe Future remain in oblivionâ is a conceptual album and there is a build up in intensity and emotion that goes along with the story line and the lyrics as you go from the first song to the last one. Lighthouse, our previous album, was our first orchestral work and it was more on the ambient/dramatic side. The new albumâs songs are still melodic and orchestral, but they are much more aggressive and some of them have a black metal influence. When writing, our goal was to keep an important melodic aspect while elevating the energy level with our live show in mind. A friend from a well-known metal band heard some of the songs and said they sounded like Dimmu Borgir with Suffocation riffs, I suppose it was a compliment. We feel the album is a good combination of aggression/melody, ugliness/beauty and will appeals to fans of Shadow of Intent, Septic Flesh, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Lorna Shore, and I suppose⦠Dimmu Borgir.” – Vortex
Album Title: The Future Remains In Oblivion
Release Date: June 9, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Vortex.band | Facebook.com/vortex.band.ca | Instagram.com/vortex.band.ca | Twitter.com/vortexband | Youtube.com/@VortexBand
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Linktree – https://linktr.ee/vortexband
“Vortex, with their epic and heavy music, are truly a staple of the Quebec metal scene and it’s always a pleasure to see them perform.” – Thorium Mag – Live Review 2022
“Symphonic tones merge beautifully with wailing guitar riffs and thunderous drums in a storm of terrible and wonderful fury of the gods. VORTEXâs very name sums up the unique blend of complex sounds theyâve taken time to master.” – 9/10 – Metal Temple (Lighthouse Review 2019)
Album Title: The Future Remains In Oblivion
Release Date: June 9, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Track Listing:
1. From The Sun (5:24)
2. Downfall (4:11)
3. The Fool (3:13)
4. The Walls (4:32)
5. Our Possible End (4:23)
6. First Blood (4:29)
7. The Future Remains In Oblivion (4:50)
8. When No More Words Will Be Heard (5:22)
Album Length: 36:29
Album Credits:
– All songs performed by VORTEX
– All songs written by VORTEX
РProduced by Pierre Luc Demers and Dany L̩vesque
– Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Pierre Luc Demers (Studio Ondechoc)
– Album artwork by Rudi Gorging Suicide
– MAPL – Canadian Content
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The Album As A Whole:
âThe Future Remains In Oblivionâ is an orchestral death metal album with plenty of heavy riffing and melodies, technical vocals, and epic soloing. If you were to compare it with âLighthouseâ it is more aggressive, and energetic, and the compositions have been crafted with live shows in mind.
Track by Track:
From the sun (5:24)
A natural cataclysm occurs, ââdeath comes from the Sunââ. Important Solar Flares are scientifically possible, and we prefer writing about real possibilities instead of pure fiction. âFrom the Sunâ has an epic introduction and choruses. After the intro, when the vocals finally kick in for the verse, to us it sounds like something Fleshgod Apocalypse could have written.
Downfall (4:11)
After the cataclysm society collapses and weâve read that there would be three stages in only three days if that was to happen for real, ââsocial order is a thing of the past, survival justifies the meansââ. This number has some nice technical vocals, it’s going all over in many different styles. It’s one of the songs that are riff-oriented and thus less melodic with many fast blast beats.
The Fool (3:13)
Prior to the cataclysm, there is that guy who passes for crazy because he is hyper eco anxious. He is surely an important event related to ecology that will cause society to collapse ââFollow me, I designed a future to escape disasterââ. This one is the most deathcore of the album, heavy and brutal, with no place for melody.
The Walls (4:32)
Our Fool got all sorts of people to believe and follow him. Billionaires, soldiers, engineers, contractors, scientists, farmers, physicians, etc. Theyâve put everything theyâve got into building a secret small city that is protected by reinforced walls and an arsenal. Inside these walls, they have everything they need to survive any cataclysm and its aftermath. âThe Wallsâ verses have a strong orchestral melody underlying black metal riffing and vocals to create a unique feel. The choruses have some of our best orchestral writing with its predominant violen melody supporting powerful layers of guttural vocals. âThe Wallsâ has one of the best solos of the album, technical with lots of feel and melody.
Our Possible End (4:23)
Outside survivors discover the city by chance. They are sick and deprived and they want in. ââ I can hear it coming from far again, the rumble of our possible end, a thud arising from the forest, the running of hundreds of menââ.
This song is straight old-school death metal with orchestrations.
First Blood (4:29)
This is war. They are coming again, but this time in greater numbers and much more prepared. ââThis battle brought us our first suffering. In this battle, our first blood, our first deathsââ. Â This one has aggressive black metal riffing and vocals in its verses, atmospheric orchestral melo-death in its choruses, huge choirs, and epic soloing, it has all that Vortex does at its best.
The Future Remains In Oblivion (4:50)
ââOthers might know about us, but we have greater concern, we may be the last to stand. We have prevailed but while we had the past and now the present, the future remains in oblivionââ. This is one of our favorites, it is heavy, tasty, and beautiful. It has the most complex structure of the album, it may take a few listen to get into but itâs a song that will stick over time. It is based around the orchestra and some technical playing and vocals; it is challenging to play live, and we get a kick out of nailing it.
When No More Words Will Be Heard (5:22)
What is the place/importance of mankind in the grand schemes of the Universe? ââWhen no more words will be heard, what will happen to the world, to the Universe?ââ.
This song is different from the rest of the album. Most of it is composed of three orchestral melodies that were inspired by movie scores. It perfectly fits its philosophical lyrics and itâs a perfect closer with its feel of despair and grandiose finale. We are going to use this slower song to create some dynamics in the pacing of our live set.
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Story Angles – Fun Facts:
1. None of us fits the âregularâ death metal band member stereotype. Some of us have children and we all have jobs most people wouldnât think were for a death metal musician. We count a business director, a paramedic, a wind farm manager, a big corporation team manager, and a music composer in our ranks. Two of the band members are schooled musicians.
2. We have played about 200 shows together until now.
3. We often drive for 6, 8, 10, and even sometimes 14 hours to play a live show, we are road warriors!!!
4. We are serious and professional, but occasionally some of us really like to party when the show is over. I would have great stories to tell but Iâm not sure I should talk about themâ¦.
5. Over the years we had much bad luck and encountered many problems on the road and in our live shows, we could write a book on the subject. Some stories are just funny, and some others are not. Once we lost a trailer driving 110 kph on a highway, some people could have been killed, and all our equipment and merch was all over the ditch in the mud. Another time we had a soundman who thought he didnât have to mic our guitar cabinets because we had wireless guitar systems, another one put the mikes on the drums and the cabs and left and never came back to the show, we had to do everything ourselves for us and the other bands. Once we got to a venue and the owner didnât know that the promotor had booked a death metal lineup in his bar, you should have seen its face while we were sound checkingâ¦. The time a girl stripped while moshing in front of the stage was funny too, some guy had to take her out of the venue on his shoulder to stop her. And of course, we have tons of drunk guy stories but Iâm not going to talk about thatâ¦.
L-R – Justin LâItalien Dubé (Drums and Piano), Simon Desjardins (Bass), Alexandre Labrie (Vocals), Dany Lévesque (Guitars), Mathieu Duguay (Guitars and Orchestrations)
Photo Credit: Freeman
For Rimouski, Quebec, Canadaâs Vortex, delivering a story is of utmost importance and unsurprisingly their last two albums âThe Asylumâ (2016) and âLighthouseâ (2018) released on PRC Music have been epic concept albums set to their signature orchestral blackened melodic death metal. The third installment in their discography is the self-released âThe Future Remains In Oblivionâ, which builds on their sound with added black metal influence, a heavy dose of aggressiveness, and a buildup of intensity and emotion as the storyline progresses.
When it comes to writing, Vortex starts with the story first, something worth talking about. Each song becomes a chapter and then the music can start to form based on the feeling of the tale. That process is diversified, sometimes the orchestra is the backbone of the song and sometimes itâs added once the drums and guitars are all written. All the band members participate in different degrees to the writing process, bringing their own influences into the mix.
The songs you will encounter on this upcoming release are aggressive, but Vortex also has a strong melodic approach and a lot of orchestrations combined with guttural and black metal vocals, and diverse guitars that alternate between howling shreds and beautiful, emotional riffs. It is recommended for fans of Shadow of Intent, Septicflesh and Dimmu Borgir.
âThe Future Remains In Oblivionâ is due out June 9, 2023.
Vortex is
Justin LâItalien Dubé – Piano and Drums
Simon Desjardins – Bass
Alexandre Labrie – Vocals
Dany Levesque – Guitar
Mathieu Duguay – Guitar and Orchestrations
Discography
2023 – Â The Future Remains In Oblivion (Self-Release)
2018 – Lighthouse, PRC Music
2016 – The Asylum, PRC Music
Shared Stage with:
Aeternam, Obscura, Khalma, Vesperia, Obey the Brave, Anonymus, BARF, DBC, Mutank, E-Force, Boundaries, Insurrection, Feel like Home, The Flaying, Spirit of Rebellion, Reanimator, Chemicide, Replicant, Valfreya, Obsolete Mankind, Strigampire, Sufferize, Lycanthro, Nova Spei, Meet the mailman, Saccage, Dischord, Sanguine Glacialis, Windferer, Lancaster, Trollwar, Flesh Shrine, Death note silence, Blinded by Faith.
Tours and Festivals:
2019 – PRC Metal Bash tour (Quebec and The Maritimes)
2018 – Chemicide tour (Quebec)
2017 – E-Force tour – Eric Forest ex-Voivod (Eastern Canada)
2017 – Reanimator tour (Quebec)
