BYZANTINE finishes tracking songs for 'Oblivion Beckons'

West Virginia's forward-thinking thrashers BYZANTINE have completed tracking for the band's forthcoming record, 'Oblivion Beckons,' which will see a September release through Prosthetic Records.

"Well, after 4 months of holing ourselves up in the studio at 101 Productions, only taking a break to hit the road with God Forbid on the Chains of Humanity tour, we have finally finished recording the tracks for our third album, 'Oblivion Beckons,'" frontman OJ Ojeda says. "I finished my last vocal track last night and I am happy as hell with the sounds we have going and the ideas we came up with this time around. We took a couple different paths on this one, stripping down some things like the vocals for a more aggressive style and then going out on a limb on some other things we have never tried before. This album is more varied than anything we have done prior and, clocking in at around an hour, should have more than enough metal for all our friends and fans. This week, [drummer] Wolfe, Aaron [Fischer, producer] and myself will trek up to Baltimore, Md. to Drew Mazurek's studio and mix this beast. Look out for a September release. 'Till then..."

Song listing for Oblivion Beckons (in alphabetical order):
Absolute Horizon
All Hail the Endtimes
A Residual Haunting
Catalyst
Centurion
Deep End of Nothing
Expansion and Collapse (Renavatio)
Nadir
Oblivion Beckons
Pattern Recognition
Receiving End of Murder
The Gift of Discernment

'Oblivion Beckons' is the follow-up to 2005's '...And They Shall Take Up Serpents,' which received critical acclaim for progressive song structures and thrash-oriented musicianship. BYZANTINE recently released the band's debut DVD, 'Salvation,' last month and features the exclusive unveiling of "Cradle Song," a never-before recorded track from early in the band's career. Only available on the DVD, "Cradle Song" will not appear on the forthcoming 'Oblivion Beckons,' and rounds out the DVD's tracking which also includes a live performance film, bootleg performances, behind the scenes footage, interviews and the music video for "Jeremiad," a track from '...And They Shall Take Up Serpents.' "Cradle Song" is now also available exclusively on iTunes here (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=250501616&s=143441).