CLOAK, based in Atlanta, Georgia since forming in 2013, made a conscious decision to give their new record a thematic and conceptual vibe, with lyrics and themes around liminality and duality ultimately spawning a fully realized opus.
On Above, Below, & Through founding members, vocalist/guitarist Scott Taysom and guitarist Max Brigham, are now joined by drummer Matt Morris and bassist Rafay Nabeel. Sonically, the offering is the band‘s most lush and massive-sounding record to date. The drums are huge but not processed sounding, the bass rumbles, and the guitar tones are full of attack and focus. Listeners will notice a big difference between this production and CLOAK‘s previous records.
As the songs on the record were being composed, themes began to emerge. “The main concepts of the songs were dealing with pathways between life and death, realms between dream and consciousness, shifts between beast and man, and the juxtaposition of shadow and light as spiritual guides,” explains Taysom. “The album title‘s meaning became clear, as something both all-encompassing and complete, but also something liminal and transitional. This is represented in both the songs and the band itself at the time of writing the album.”
Lead single “Nigredo – Initium” was the first song CLOAK worked on as a new lineup. Taysom‘s lyrics are a direct result of the way the music sounds, and the inspiration the song gives off.
The band further elaborates, “A tale of being marked from the beginning. ’Nigredo – Initium‘ was the first song we started working on as a new lineup, which is very fitting considering the translated title. It is the initial door that opens to the world that is Above, Below, & Through, and the start of a new dark age.”
