Legendary metal masters Sacred Oath have announced that they will release their 10th album, Twelve Bells, on May 12th. The quartet wrote and recorded 10 brand new songs in a few short months this past summer. Twelve Bells will be distributed in the US through Caroline; in Canada through Universal; and in Europe through eOne. It will be available as a CD digipack with lyric booklet, deluxe vinyl LP, and digital download. It will also be available on all of the streaming services on day of release.

The band tracked and mixed all 60-minutes of music at the studio owned and operated by singer/guitarist Rob Thorne. “This is the sixth album we’ve done entirely at my place, and I always strive for something different in the production each time,” says Thorne. “The album is a 180 from Ravensong (2015) – it hits a lot harder up front. Lots of drums and raw guitars dominating our usual layered vocal/instrumental arrangements.”

Stylistically, fans can expect more traditional, old-school metal from Sacred Oath on this release. “I’m always looking to add new elements to the sound of an album, but at the end of the day Sacred Oath is always Sacred Oath,” according to Thorne, who traces his roots with the band all the way back to 1985. “We’ve never had any reason to be anything other than true to ourselves. Some people call us power metal, some traditional metal. We don’t think much about any of that.”

Tracklisting:

“New Religion”
“Twelve Bells”
“Fighter’s Heart”
“Bionic”
“Never And Forevermore”
“Demon Ize”
“Well Of Souls”
“Eat The Young”
“No Man’s Land”
“The Last Word”

“I have been working with Rob and Sacred Oath on and off for almost 8 years, and I am always amazed how they keep raising the bar,” says Michael Cusanelli, president of Sales and Marketing for the ILS Group and who handles distribution for the band’s record label Angel Thorne Music. “Twelve Bells sounds fresh and new while still adhering to their 30 year history.”

Cover art for the album was conceived by the band and created to spec by designer Jack Walker. The concept behind the music and the artwork is one of endings; though the band has declined to comment on what that means for the future. Several tour dates are on the calendar beginning in May and the band has plans to do at least 20 shows to promote Twelve Bells.