Masked black metal outfit Gaerea have released a new song called World Ablaze.
The ostensibly standalone single is accompanied by a fiery music video, and is one of the Portuguese band’s most concise tracks to date, accelerating from an acoustic opening to blast-beating extreme metal in three-and-a-half minutes.
Gaerea, whose members are all anonymous, have commented on the themes of the new song.
“World Ablaze tells the story of a man who has lived all his life inside a cage,” they say.
“He knows that one day he will be set free and experience the world with its true colors. Unfortunately, he also knows that day will be his last hours alive.
“It’s a song about desire, hope and freedom. A dance between life and death, hope and despair.”
Gaerea formed in 2016 and released their full-length debut, Unsettling Whispers, two years later via Transcending Obscurity Records.
The album received critical acclaim and was a cult hit on the music service Bandcamp, with reviews praising the band’s experimentation with death metal and post-metal textures.
Gaerea subsequently signed to Season Of Mist (home of Mayhem, Septicflesh, Rotting Christ and more), with whom they’ve released two further albums: Limbo (2020) and Mirage (2022).
Metal Hammer named Mirage as the fifth-best black metal album of 2022 at the end of the year.
Journalist Matt Mills wrote: “Gaerea already have a reach well beyond the borders of black metal, and this album will only spread that popularity even further.
“Accessible and eclectic without compromising on the essence of extreme music, it’s hard to think of a metalhead who won’t be won over by Mirage.”
Marketing materials state that World Ablaze is a standalone release, but Gaerea’s Spotify profile says that the band hope to release their fourth album this year.
Until then, Gaerea will spend this summer touring Europe with Wolves In The Throne Room, plus playing select shows with Behemoth and Testament and performing at festivals. The full list of dates is below.
Gaerea 2024 tour dates:
May 02: Kopervik Karmoygeddon Metal Festival, Norway
May 16: Copenhagen A Colossal Weekend, Denmark
May 17: Leipzig Hellraiser, Germany
May 18: Warsaw Proxima, Poland
May 19: Krakow Kamienna 12, Poland
May 20: Budapest Analog, Hungary
May 21: Vienna Arena, Austria
May 22: Munich Feierwerk, Germany
May 23: Parma Campus, Italy
May 24: Lucerne Schuur, Switzerland
May 25: Hoogeveen Graveland Festival, Netherlands
May 26: Bruges Cactus, Belgium
May 28: Limerick Dolans Warehouse, Ireland
May 29: Dublin Opium, Ireland
May 30: Bristol The Fleece, UK
May 31: London Earth, UK
Jun 01: Glasgow The Garage, UK
Jun 02: Scarborough Fortress Festival, UK
Jun 04: Bochum Zeche, Germany
Jun 05: Frankfurt, Germany
Jun 06: Hamburg Grunspan, Germany
Jun 07: Berlin, Germany
Jun 22: Kilkim Zaibu, Lithuania
Jul 05: Kalmar Metal Theatre Festival, Sweden
Jul 06: Emmen Pitfest, Netherlands
Jul 20: Frýdek-Místek Dark Session Fest, Czech Republic
Jul 21: Warsaw Progresja Summer Stage, Poland
Jul 23: Kosice Kulturpark, Slovakia
Jul 25: Tolmin Tolminator, Slovenia
Aug 01: Transylvania Rockstadt Extreme Fest, Romania
Aug 08: Kotka Dark River Festival, Finland
Aug 30: Volos Golden R Festival, Greece
