The San Diego psych-rock-power trio Earthless are back with new material in form of their upcoming new album, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, which is set to be released on January 28th via Nuclear Blast. Their sixth studio album features a rather short looking track-list, with only two songs, after all, but each song has a hefty lenght. The title track of the record is a whopping 41-minutes long and “Death To The Red Sun” 20 minutes.

With the album announcement, the band also shared a first taste of the record, with a 3-minute long excerpt of “Death to The Red Sun.” In the short time, fans can somewhat make up their mind on how the album will sound, and can get excited for the whole thing. In April this year the band shared the news that they have been working on some new material and just last month they announce their upcoming 2022 tour dates. The tour will kick off just one day before the official release of the album, so some lucky fans might get a first taste of the new material live.

Check out the song/teaser below.

Generally it seems like a lot of metal bands recently find some inspiration in asian culture, looking at you, Iron Maiden, which promises new exciting influences and sounds. Earthless’ album concept finds some inspiration in Japanese myths and tales. “My son and I came across the ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons’ in a book of traditional Japanese ghost stories,” bassist Mike Eginton explains. “I like the idea of people hiding and being able to hear the madness but not see it. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

Egintion is talking about “Hyakki Yagyō, or the ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons,’ one version of the tale states that anyone who witnesses this otherworldly procession will die instantly—or be carried off by the creatures of the night. As a result, the villagers hide in their homes, lest they become victims of these supernatural invaders.”

The song itself features some nice guitar riffs that show the southern Californian roots of the band. Fast drum beats invite the audience to head bang along and lose themselves in the music.

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat