Huntsmen Announce New Album "The Dry Land" (Watch Teaser Video)

Chicago progressive doom metal group Huntsmen has announced a new album, The Dry Land, coming later this year via Prosthetic Records. It's been four years since they put out the Mandala of Fear 2LP [check out our right-before-COVID video interview from 2020], with a short EP (The Dying Pines) in the meantime, and so a new record is very welcome. Every release has seen the eclectic band further evolve into one of the most adventurous and dynamic bands in Chicago (and we have a lot of those), staying true to their core melodic heaviness while always bringing something new and unexpected to the table. I was fortunate enough to have been invited to a private performance just a few weeks ago and I can attest to the new stuff being very, very good. The first single drops early May, so keep an ear out for that.

The record is set to release June 7th, with a release show taking place that same day at Sleeping Village with Without Waves and Anatomy of Habit. Tickets go on sale for that on April 5th here.

Watch a teaser trailer for the new album below and follow the band here.

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More details on the record follow:

Speaking on the album announcement, Ray Bueno-Knipe (drums and vocals) comments: “We are incredibly grateful to announce the release of our third full length record with our Prosthetic Records family, The Dry Land. This album is about being stuck between two opposites, echoing the collective uncertainty and confusion we've all felt for the past few years, and that can be heard and felt in the metallic heft and delicate stillness throughout the record. We wrote this for us to vent our anger and frustrations, to heal our wounds, and grieve our losses. We hope this can help others to do the same.”

Of the release show, Marc Stranger-Najjar (bass and vocals) adds: "After a couple of years of writing and arranging, we are overwhelmed with excitement to finally share The Dry Land with the world on June 7, including a live performance of the record in its entirety at Sleeping Village. We look forward to the incredible supporting bands (our friends Without Waves and Anatomy Of Habit), as well as sharing the experience with our dearest friends in Chicago.”

Following the release of their sophomore full-length, Mandala of Fear, in 2020 and The Dying Pines EP in 2022 HUNTSMEN’s intervening years between studio albums were marked with devastatingly contrasting highs and lows. Whilst their body of studio work continued to garner acclaim from fans and critics alike, chronic illness would become a recurring uphill battle for the ensemble. As these jarring mixed fortunes reached their apex towards the end of 2022, the band reached towards each other outside of their craft as old friends. Taking stock of four years of tribulations and through the fire, HUNTSMEN find themselves reborn on The Dry Land.