North Carolina melodic death metal leaders AETHER REALM will soon hit the road in the UK and Ireland with headliners Nekrogoblikon and fellow support artists Cage Fight! Today, in celebration of the upcoming tour, AETHER REALM have dropped an entirely brand new single, entitled “Should I?”, featuring none other than the iconic Björn “Speed” Strid (Soilwork/The Night Flight Orchestra).
The introspective new single follows acclaimed albums Tarot (2017) and Redneck Vikings From Hell (2020, #16 US Top New Artist Albums), and is chock full of epic bombast and undeniable groove, uniquely mixing melodic soundscapes with southern-fried metal riffage.
Frontman Vincent “Jake” Jones offers:
“‘Should I?’ is a song about doubt. Way back in 2020, right after we put out Redneck Vikings From Hell, AETHER REALM experienced a surge of new fans. However, this was coupled with an increase in the number of “anti-fans” – people that aren’t content to simply not enjoy our music, but feel a strong need to convince other people not to as well. You might call them “trolls” or “haters” or whatever. You know the type. We were also navigating the music industry for the first time – the world of labels and contracts and generally feeling like a small fish in a big pond.
I hadn’t really figured out how to deal with this transition. Some of it was getting under my skin, and I found myself doubting my choices and abilities. At the same time, the skeleton for a new track was coming together. I had been listening to a lot of Soilwork, and I think that showed in the songwriting. I definitely wrote the vocals with Soilwork‘s vocalist Björn Strid in mind but in a vague ‘wouldn’t it be cool if’ way. The lyrics spilled out naturally, taking the shape of the question I ask myself every time someone tells me I should be doing something different than what I’m doing. Heinrich and Donny laid down guitars for a working demo, and we picked it back up in 2023 and started polishing it up. Our boys in Wilderun had just done a tour with Soilwork, and a connection was made. I shot my shot with Björn, and a short time later he responded that he dug the track and would do it.
Tyler and I tracked drums, vocals, and bass with Kile Odell at Top Track Studios and No Heroes Studios respectively. I think it came out pretty great, but I’m sure I’ll hear someone tell me that I should write a different way. I think from now on I’ll probably get some catharsis out of just responding with ‘Should I?'”
