Photo by: Joey Wharton

Official press release:

Richmond’s Inter Arma, reigning masters of the slow build, continue to trace a distinctly ambitious trajectory through modern metal. Today, the band announces their 4th full-length offering Sulphur English, coming April 12th, 2019, and share the first single entitled “Citadel”.  Listen to “Citadel” here:

Vocalist Mike Paparo comments:

“The lyrics to ‘Citadel’ were written as a sort of clarion call to myself about overcoming depression and the demons that manifest with it. It, like most of the lyrical content on the record, is deeply personal to me.  For the band as a whole, Sulphur English is an ill-tempered, unrepentant act of defiance towards stagnation and complacency. We create this music on our own terms and we refuse to compromise our collective vision, for better or worse.”

Sulphur English is due out April 12th on CD/2xLP/Digital. Physical packages are available for pre-order via Relapse.com. digital downloads/streaming services are available here.

Additionally, Inter Arma have been announced for Decibel’s Metal & Beer Fest Pre-Fest and celebrate the release of Sulphur English with labelmates Integrity, Full of Hell, & Devil Master. Stay tuned for more Inter Arma live announcements in the near future.

Inter Arma’s impulses tend toward the epic, but never bloat; they meld several styles — doom, sludge, and hard psych — without coming off like dilettantes. This newest full-length, Sulphur English, finds them mining deeper in the proggy organic doom fields that made both Paradise Gallows and Sky Burial so thrilling while expanding further the on the psych-folk strain that made those albums’ peaks seem so lofty.

Few metal bands have ever made such effective use of acoustic instruments in truly heavy environments as Inter Arma do; the acoustic guitar that stitches “Stillness” together is as effective as any overdriven bass; a two-minute gloomy piano-and-feedback piece titled “Observances Of The Path” rolls out the carpet for “The Atavist’s Meridian”, an album highlight that rides a gigantic, roomy drum sound into realms akin to a murkier Paradise Lost, a more aggressive Om, and a dreamier, more stoned Kylesa all playing together at once. Few bands make music as engrossing as Inter Arma; their lengthy, almost meditative songs rumble patiently forward until you’re ready to get thrown off a bridge — and then they throw you, with great force.

Sulphur English track listing:

  1. “Bumgardner”
  2. “A Waxen Sea”
  3. “Citadel”
  4. “Howling Lands”
  5. “Stillness”
  6. “Observances of the Path”
  7. “The Atavist’s Meridian”
  8. “Blood on the Lupines”
  9. “Sulphur English”

Inter Arma is:

Mike Paparo – vocals
T.J. Childers – drums
Steven Russell – guitars
Trey Dalton – guitars
Andrew Lacour – bass