It’s Thanksgiving today in the US. I hate the holiday, its history, and what it stands for through that history, but I will say I’m thankful for good-ass music. I’m currently on a staycation from my day job and while that’s always good enough for me, I do feel the pull for adventure, to escape my increasingly cold and mundane landscape for something different. One of the biggest reasons to love music is the escapism it provides and it’s what makes a band like Switzerland’s NevBorn so alluring.
NevBorn are winding back to swing for the fences in anticipation for their new album, Alkaios · Part II · The Peacock, naturally a sequel to last year’s Alkaios · Part I · The Eagle, and it drops next year on March 30 via Luminol Records, a full exact two years from when Part I dropped. Each album is based on the epic Twelve Labors of Heracles. Part of a planned trilogy, this is the squishy midpoint that usually makes or breaks an ambitious project like this, but based on the track we’re premiering today, I don’t think the band, nor their fans, have anything to worry about. Let’s check out the immense and wide-spanning “Stymfalia”!
NevBorn are all in with this concept, not just thematically, but sonically as well. When you’re dealing with material like this – stuff that’s influenced countless other stories and their creatives – it can be really hard to purposefully add to that legacy, but the five-piece succeed exponentially. “Stymfalia” is a transformational piece, one that changes before your very ears from a vast and quaint progressive respite to an expansive and energetic anthem. In other words, it’s really good.
The band are very direct with what their work represents and explain it thusly:
‘”Stymfalia” tells the story of the sixth of Heracles’ twelve labors: driving away the birds of Lake Stymphalus. The song steadily builds in intensity as the hero tires in his quest, creating palpable tension. It’s one of our most contrasting pieces, shifting between gentleness and raw power, with emotionally charged passages to capture the essence of heroic struggle, endurance, and deep fatigue.’
The first few minutes of “Stymfalia” are pristine, like sitting at the edge of a crystal lake brightened to an almost uncomfortable intensity by the sun, the water’s reflection blinding you from the ills of the world. The legend of Heracles’ sixth labor sits nicely in this instrumentation, perhaps showing the birds at peace at the lake with Heracles strategizing on how to disperse the birds as ordered by the king Eurystheus. The increasing action of the band represents Heracles’ struggle to accomplish his task, each drum strike like the clap of the krotala gifted to him by Athena to spook the birds, each screamed vocal representing the emotional turmoil from undergoing this labor, the guitar melodies toward the end like each loosed arrow that he shoots toward the fleeing birds. Depending on what version of the myth you read, these birds were exceptionally powerful and violent toward humans so putting them down for good isn’t as malicious as it may sound – the single’s cover art certainly portrays them as devious, dangerous creatures.
I love the modulated vocals near the end of the track, they give a nice sense of unease and represent that coiling tension the band mention. They also give some light Cynic vibes as they are also known for employing similar techniques. I’ve looped “Stymfalia” for the past hour, only equating to four listens due to its hefty 15-minute runtime, but it’s been a blur each time. This is top notch progressive metal, emotive to its benefit and coming close to capturing the sort of wonder that the best bands in the scene have put out.
In case it wasn’t clear from the above, NevBorn need to be on your radar. I for one will be checking out Alkaios · Part I · The Eagle right after I submit this article, and I certainly will be anticipating the rest of Part II next year when it drops on March 30 thanks to Luminol Records. If you’re as sold as me, you can look to grab the album when it’s available on Bandcamp. You can also follow NevBorn as they weave more epic tales on Facebook and Instagram.
