Iron Kingdom

The Invisible Orange presents UNLEASH THE ARCHERS Phantoma Album Release Show - Victoria, BC with guests IRON KINGDOM TIBERIUS MERGE Ages 19 and over +++++++ Unleash The Archer's vocalist Brittney Slayes said about this event: "We are beyond excited to finally return to Victoria!!! It has been way too long and we've missed the scene so much. The pandemic threw a wrench into things in 2021 but nothing is going to stand in our way this time 🙂 We will have the new album in hand and it will be our first show with a completely new setlist so, we can't wait to play all the new tracks live for the first time in front of our hometown, just like the good old days." And Napalm Records gave the following press release about the new album: Canada’s most exciting metal band, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of their transfixing sixth studio release, the AI inspired concept album Phantoma, out May 10, 2024 via Napalm Records. The new album follows the band's breakout 2020 album, Abyss, which won the JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year after debuting at #1 on the US Current Hard Music and Top New Artist charts. Frontwoman and lyricist Brittney Slayes conjured Phantoma’s concept in 2021; before the swarm of pressing commentary surrounding AI began to reach an all-time high. Led by the album’s protagonist Phantoma, a Phase 4 / Network Tier 0 unit - model A, the story recounts the trials of AI gaining sentience on a dystopian, near-future planet earth. With the band’s one-of-a-kind blend of power metal, traditional heavy metal, modern prog and pop sensibilities, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS spin a web of sharp musicality, high sci-fi concept and important social commentary about discovering the brutal truths behind the manufactured sheen of social media posturing. Following 2020's triumph Abyss, which was dubbed by Bandcamp as “a mandatory listen”, and named by Loudwire as one of the best rock and metal albums of the year, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS ascend with Phantoma. Defying controversy and bringing their imagination to life, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS utilized AI during the writing, filming, and production process on Phantoma, and weaved electronic and synthwave elements throughout the album’s 10 colossal anthems, which - in line with its theme - prove much darker and heavier in comparison to the bright positivity of Abyss. Album opener “Human Era” sets the tone with imagery of a bleak, windswept futurescape that crescendos headlong into the breakneck pace of power metal bastion “Ph4/NT0mA” - a masterwork of dueling guitar solos and vocal acrobatics. Trad-metal influenced “Buried In Code” lights the way with pummeling rhythms before the album’s path turns dark on heavy metal hardened “The Collective”, with Brittney Slayes’ warm tones inviting the listener to ‘join or stand aside’! Hair-raising first single “Green & Glass” unveils the truth before the upbeat 80s flavored “Gods In Decay” and the extraordinary balladic anthem “Give It Up Or Give It All” showcase the varied song writing prowess of UNLEASH THE ARCHERS’ modern era. A trifecta of concept closers begins with the moody “Ghosts In The Mist”, leading into the soaring yet menacing “Seeking Vengeance” before closing with the bittersweet tale of “Blood Empress”. Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen, and with lead guitarist Andrew Kingsley at the helm as both principal songwriter and producer, Phantoma is an exciting advancement in UNLEASH THE ARCHERS’ songwriting and storytelling mastery, and a giant leap forward in their towering musical trajectory. TICKETS SOLD OUT