The Rise of Reliqa Continues with New Song and Debut Album Announcement
It’s a great day to be a Reliqa fanatic!
The band are back with a brand new tune and a long-awaited album announcement for all of us one-dayers. The news follows from the release of ‘Terminal‘ where the group also announced their signing to giant metal label Nuclear Blast worldwide and Greyscale Records back home. Vocalist Monique Pym first hinted at today’s developments back then when sharing the below messaging:
“I hate to be cryptic, but all I can really say is, the future is looking bright!”
The future is now – with the band announcing their debut album Secrets of the Future – set for release on May 31st. Massive news for the upcoming prog-genre-bending-act who only released their highly acclaimed EP I Don’t Know Who I Am back in 2022.
‘Killstar (The Cold World)‘ is the mark of a band that knows exactly and precisely what it’s doing and where it’s going, musically and creatively, when it can take a whole bunch of seemingly disparate musical elements and fuse them all into one seamless whole. And that’s what we have here.
There is so much going on here – from the prominent techno/electro elements, to the complicated riffing punching together with the nimble-footed double-bass drumming, to the blistering lead guitar work, to the technique-laden vocals that range from soaring highs to earthy gravels to breathy a-capellas. It’s a wild and wonderful ride, in under five minutes. One gets the feeling that, with a band like this, a single is not indicative of what’s to come on the soon-to-be-released album, it is just one piece in the joyous, multi-pronged puzzle.
But boy, does it begin to whet the appetite.
On today’s album launch announcement, the band shares.
“Aesthetic-wise, Secrets of the Future has some soft sci-fi elements to it, especially through the artwork and some of the soundscapes throughout… We say ‘soft’ because it’s not a fictional concept album, but with the album title focusing so much on the future, the vibes are inherently dark, ominous, foreboding, a little bit dystopian at times.”
“Our songwriting style shifted in 2023 when we started writing this album, and that change in workflow is another reason why some of the songs on this record are so different to anything we’ve done before, like Cave, Terminal, Crossfire and Two Steps Apart.”
The new record is set to boast a wide range of genre-crossing experiences for listeners, with the band being inspired by everything from melodic metalcore to new-age rap, K-Pop, J-Metal, atmospheric sounds, progressive metal and a healthy dose of traditional rock and metal.
Australia has a long and illustrious history of giving hyper-quality alt and progressive heavy rock to the world, especially this century. Reliqa seem poised to fearlessly lead the nation into a new era of Aussie prog. And the world is watching and waiting. The future is in good hands. Bring on the album.
Words by Rod Whitfield
Follow Reliqa on socials via LinkTree
Pre-order Secrets of the Future here
Reliqa – Secrets of the Future tracklisting
1. Dying Light
2. Carve
3. Killstar (The Cold World)
4. The Flower
5. Sariah
6. Terminal
7. Keep Yourself Awake
8. Crossfire
9. Physical
10. Two Steps Apart
11. A Spark
12. Upside Down