BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS
What does obsession do to your mind? When you fixate on one particular person, place, or event, it clouds your thoughts, pollutes your feelings, and takes over your very being. You lose yourself and succumb to your basest instincts to pursue this obsession at all costs. Blindfolded And Led To The Woods channel the extremes of a psychotic break into an ambitious sonic tableau of intricately airtight metal, eerie production, and insidiously memorable screams. Set to this pummeling soundtrack, the New Zealand quintet—Stace Fifield [vocals], Stuart Henley-Minchington [guitar, vocals], Dan Hayston [guitar], Nick Smith [bass], and Anthony “Coota” Asimakopoulos [drums]—implant an immersive story into the core of their fifth full-length offering, The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me [Prosthetic Records].
“It’s the first time we’ve ever done a concept album with one overarching story from start to finish,” notes Stuart. “You could almost think of it as a movie or a series.”
“As far as the concept goes, it’s loosely based on this person stalking a victim who’s in a relationship,” adds Nick. “Each song represents another stage of what’s going on as the stalker becomes more insane. There’s a twist at the end though.”
The group have quietly sharpened their attack since emerging in 2010. A series of fan favorite releases bulldozed the way for 2023’s Rejecting Obliteration. Beyond praise from Everything Is Noise, KNOTFEST, Echoes and Dust, and more, Distorted Sound awarded the latter “9/10,” going on to promise, “Strap yourselves in, it’s quite the ride.” Invisible Oranges touted Rejecting Obliteration among “The Best Heavy Metal of 2023 So Far,” while Metalsucks highlighted the collective as one of “Five New Zealand Metal Bands You Should Know.” Moreover, they have clocked over 1 million total streams and counting.
Throughout 2024, they carefully pieced together The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me. For the first time, the musicians took the reins and self-produced the LP. The addition of Dan and Anthony also infused a rush of new blood into the creative process. Additionally, they tapped Forrester Savell [Karnivool, Animals As Leaders] to handle mixing and mastering.
“Dan pushed things further, and his contribution helped sculpt what the music was going to be like,” notes Stuart. “Dan’s an extremely technically proficient guitarist, but he also brought in more atmospheric elements with synths. It was super important to self-produce, because we actually were able to give everything the time it deserved. We didn’t have any constraints hanging over our heads. There weren’t any compromises, and we’re 100% happy.”
Speaking of uncompromising, the single “Compulsion” breaks down the door with a barrage of double bass and seasick pinch harmonics. The thrash-y riff gives way to flashes of impressive tech metal wizardry, and the vocals bellow with bold brutality. “I will go to war and rain hellfire.”
“It was the first song I wrote for this,” recalls Stuart. “It showed me what the rest of the record could look like since it was immediately faster and far more aggressive, intense, and layered. Right off the bat, I knew, ‘This is going to be our heaviest body of work’. Thematically, you’re seeing the character really descend into madness. The vocals illuminate how the character is coming into the mix. It’s short, sweet, crazy, and no bullshit.”
Elsewhere, “Cafuné” tosses and turns between shrill tremolo-picking and hulking distortion. Ominous synths hum like a choir of the damned under the venom-drenched vocal transmissions. Simultaneously, the jarring tempo shifts constantly surprise. “Lyrically, it’s more poetic,” Stu reveals. “You’ve just fallen in love with a person, and the future looks bright. “Musically, there are so many dimensions. You’ve got the synth lines and some acoustic guitar hidden behind the mix.”
“The word ‘Cafuné’ is Portuguese, and it means to ‘Run your fingers through your lover’s hair’,” Nick elaborates. “Things look good at this stage of the story, but it’s about to turn south.”
The title track “The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me” twists and turns through a blood-spattered tapestry of fierce fretwork, mind-numbing drums, and fascinatingly manic vocals.
“In the song, the stalker breaks into this home and is looking around the bedroom,” Nick sets the scene. “It’s quite visceral. Unanimously, we knew it had to be the title.”
Stu elaborates, “You’re experiencing the god complex of somebody who is completely obsessed with another person to the point of madness. The stalker wants to control every single thing the victim does. It might get to the point of ending a life…”
The eight-minute opener “Arrows of Golden Light” unfolds with all of the “Sturm und Drang” of a big screen psychological thriller accented by clean guitar, airy samples, and a gentle buzz. The momentum ramps up towards an all-out sensory assault.
“It’s our longest song, and it conjures some crazy images,” says Nick. “The beginning pulls you into this world with the ambience. You start with the stalker meeting the victim in a coffee shop. It’s one of our favorite tracks.”
The finale “Coalescence” provides an equally expansive bookend for the LP. As one last shred of sanity unspools in a bloodletting blast, Icelandic artist Hera Hjartardóttir emerges from the shadows with a hauntingly gorgeous appearance. She laments, “This cold world,” over a dirge-link crescendo awash in dirt and distortion.
“Hera’s outro is incredible,” notes Stu. “It goes from insanely heavy into a downright lovely moment. It’s one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever done.”
Ultimately, Blindfolded And Led To The Woods have made an obsession-worthy album that grabs you and never lets go.
“We’re branching out, and we hope you feel as if you’ve been taken on a journey,” Stu leaves off.
“I think there’s still room to tell stories like this in music,” concludes Nick. “My dad loved all of the concept albums of the seventies. It’s rare now, but it’s possible. Hopefully you’ll revisit this one after you hear it and discover new things on each listen.”