Astrakhan - "The Traveler" (Song Premiere)
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Hailing from Vancouver, progressive sludge quartet Astrakhan are poised to release their debut full-length album Reward in Purpose comes out June 10th via War on Music and Sunmask Records. Today we’re revealing a new track from said record titled “The Traveler”.
“The Traveler was inspired by a vivid night terror that I had,” explained guitarist/vocalist Robert Zawistowski. “I woke from sleep screaming. Both my dog and girlfriend also woke up screaming/barking, and there was a shadowy humanoid figure kneeling over me. I pushed myself up out of bed against the backboard, and it grew in the room – an outline of iridescent light circled its form as it grew and escaped into the hallway. My dog moved after it barking like he could sense my attention on whatever creature my subconscious had concocted. My girlfriend at the time fell back asleep without much issue, and my dog settled down, but the experience shook me so hard that I was sleepless for almost a full week afterward.”
Disturbing experiences aside, Zawistowski went on to describe the narrative of the song once he sat down to pen it: “The song itself tells a story of a sorcerer’s apprentice who accidentally summons an extra-planetary creature (based on the creature from my dream) who kills his master and escapes into the world. He lights sage to fight it and ultimately is left confused and defeated. The album cover is inspired by this song. It’s a photograph that I took of myself in the dark with a tripod – in the same bed that I had the experience. Our artist (Nick Patterson) painted the “traveler” over this photograph and that became the album cover.”
The album can be pre-ordered HERE. Head below to give “The Traveler” a listen.
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