PREMIERE: Barmecide Feast – Beyond Grace

We here at Distorted Sound are delighted to premiere the brand new song from BEYOND GRACE!

The new song, titled Barmecide Feast, is taken from the British death metal band’s upcoming new album, Our Kingdom Undone, which is scheduled to be released in September this year.

Speaking about the new song, vocalist Andy Walmsley tells us, “long story short, in the original version of this tale a poor man plays along with his rich benefactor who pretends to serve him an invisible banquet, and is eventually rewarded for his patience and forbearance with a sumptuous feast, the likes of which he has never even dreamed of.

In reality of course… this is bullshit. We’re constantly told that if we wait our turn, bide our time, then we’ll receive our just rewards. That the manna from above will “trickle down” soon, we just need to have faith. It’s all just one empty promise after another. That “feast” isn’t meant for us. We get the scraps, and then we’re told to count our blessings. Even though Barmecide Feast is one of the hookiest, catchiest songs on the album, it’s also one of the angriest things we’ve ever written (and this whole album is plenty pissed off, let me tell you).”

Listen to Barmecide Feast exclusively here: 

Alongside our premiere of the new song, we pitched several questions to Andy Walmsley to get more of an insight into their crushing upcoming release.

You’re set to release your brand new album Our Kingdom Undone in September. For those who may be unfamiliar with the band, how would you best describe this new album?

Andy Walmsley: Taut and technical, vicious and visceral, subtly proggy and not-so-subtly political. Death metal with both brains and brawn. Something along those lines. Different people will probably have slightly different takes on it, and that’s ok.

The new album arrives after a four year wait since 2017’s debut Seekers. How has the band grown and developed in that time?

Andy: The most obvious change has been that Chris [Morley, guitars] has been fully integrated into the band and the writing process (he originally joined during the release cycle of Seekers). He’s very much a “prog” guy, and has really helped expand our creative palette by adding his own subtle flavour to the music. More generally, of course, we’ve become even tighter as a unit – both on and off stage – and better at communicating our ideas with one another and finding ways to create together. And that’s reflected on Our Kingdom Undone, which sounds more like us, rather than just the sum of our influences.

As a whole, the record is very much a deep dive into the political and social unrest we’ve seen worldwide over the last several years. Can you provide an insight into what exactly the themes and messages you’re exploring with this record?

Andy: I think the chief emotion underlying this album is frustration. A boiling over of disappointment and disgust at the selfish, self-serving, and self-destructive actions and activities of large swathes of the human race, particularly in my own country (England). I’m no nihilist, by any means. I believe in the potential of humanity. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. But the past several years it’s seemed that (speaking in general terms) we’ve taken our eyes off the ball and allowed the most repugnant and retrogressive parts of our natures, our pettiest impulses and ugliest instincts, to dictate the way we think and act. We’ve let ourselves, to quote the late, great, Edward R. Murrow, “be driven by fear into an age of unreason”.

With Our Kingdom Undone being your second record, what do you hope to achieve with this new offering?

Andy: First and foremost, we want this album to make an impact, make a statement, and help us to establish a name for ourselves as a band to be reckoned with. To show that while we may not be the biggest, we’re still capable of going toe-to-toe, round-for-round, alongside the very best. We’ve thrown everything we have into this record, and hope that people come away from it with the sense that we’re a band worth following, worth investing in, and a band worth talking about.

But the only way to do that is for us to make a connection. We’re not the sort of band who write ‘for’ an audience, by any means (if we write ‘for’ anyone, or anything, it’s for ourselves, to express those feelings and urges that can only be communicated through music – catharsis, in a word) but if this album does connect with other people, in all its fury and fear and frustration, then that’s perhaps the greatest achievement we could possibly hope for.

Our Kingdom Undone is set for release on September 3rd via Prosthetic Records. Pre-orders are available now and can be purchased here.

For more information on BEYOND GRACE like their official page on Facebook.