Photo by: Hudson Visuals
Official press release:
New Zealand-based progressive death metal outfit Blindfolded And Led To The Woods will unleash their long-awaited new full-length, The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me, on October 10th via Prosthetic Records.
What does obsession do to your mind? When you fixate on one particular person, place, or event, it clouds your thoughts, pollutes your feelings, and takes over your very being. You lose yourself and succumb to your basest instincts to pursue this obsession at all costs. Blindfolded And Led To The Woods channels the extremes of a psychotic break into an ambitious sonic tableau of intricately airtight metal, eerie production, and insidiously memorable screams. Set to this pummeling soundtrack, the New Zealand quintet — Stace Fifield (vocals), Stuart Henley-Minchington (guitar, vocals), Dan Hayston (guitar), Nick Smith (bass), and Anthony “Coota” Asimakopoulos (drums) — implants an immersive story into the core of their fifth full-length offering, The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me. Henley-Minchington notes:
“It’s the first time we’ve ever done a concept album with one overarching story from start to finish. You could almost think of it as a movie or a series.”
Fifield elaborates:
“The record traces the psychological unraveling of a person consumed by unrequited love. As their fixation deepens, affection mutates into obsession, delusion, and violence. The final revelation of the person’s identity reframes the story as a gendered descent into madness — culminating in a brutal, fatal union under the guise of love. This revelation is given as a twist to the listener/reader to further accentuate the poetic effort of the lyrics and story.”
The group has quietly sharpened their attack since emerging in 2010. A series of fan favorite releases bulldozed the way for 2023’s Rejecting Obliteration. Beyond praise from Everything Is Noise, Knotfest, Echoes And Dust, and more, Distorted Sound awarded the latter “9/10,” going on to promise, “Strap yourselves in, it’s quite the ride.” Invisible Oranges touted Rejecting Obliteration among “The Best Heavy Metal Of 2023 So Far,” while Metalsucks highlighted the collective as one of “Five New Zealand Metal Bands You Should Know.” Moreover, they have clocked over one million total streams and counting.
Throughout 2024, they carefully pieced together The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me. For the first time, the musicians took the reins and self-produced the LP. The addition of Hayston and Asimakopoulos also infused a rush of new blood into the creative process. Additionally, they tapped Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Animals As Leaders) to handle mixing and mastering.
The record’s first single, “Compulsion”, breaks down the door with a barrage of double bass and seasick pinch harmonics. The thrashy riff gives way to flashes of impressive tech metal wizardry, and the vocals bellow with bold brutality. “I will go to war and rain hellfire.” Henley-Minchington recalls:
“It was the first song I wrote for this. It showed me what the rest of the record could look like since it was immediately faster and far more aggressive, intense, and layered. Right off the bat, I knew, ‘This is going to be our heaviest body of work’. Thematically, you’re seeing the character really descend into madness. The vocals illuminate how the character is coming into the mix. It’s short, sweet, crazy, and no bullshit.”
The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me will be released digitally. Find pre-orders here.
The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me track listing:
- “Arrows Of Golden Light”
- “Cafuné”
- “Red”
- “Compulsion”
- “The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me”
- “Snow Angel”
- “Black Orchids”
- “Totem”
- “600 Milligrams”
- “Coalescence” feat. Hera
10/10 Los Angeles, CA – TBA
10/11 San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
10/12 Palmdale, CA – Transplants Brewing
10/14 San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
10/15 Redding, CA – The Dip
10/16 Portland, OR – The High Water Mark
10/17 Seattle, WA – Substation
10/18 Richland, WA – Ray’s Golden Lion
10/19 Boise, ID – The Shredder
10/20 Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon
10/22 Denver, CO – The Crypt
10/23 Lincoln, NE – 1867 Bar
10/24 Minneapolis, MN – Underground Music Venue
10/25 Milwaukee, WI – Club Garibaldi
10/26 Chicago, IL – Reggies Music Joint
10/28 Kansas City, MO – MiniBar
10/29 Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street
10/30 Santa Fe, NM – Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery
10/31 Phoenix, AZ – TBA
11/01 Las Vegas, NV – The Griffin
