The Sorrow

Anything that doesn’t sound dramatic won’t get on this album. With this clear vision in mind, THE SORROW, together with producer Toni Meloni (Caliban, Die Toten Hosen), ensconced themselves at the Principal Studios near Münster, Germany, in May 2010. Here, in these familiar and secluded surroundings, Austria’s most successful metal act had already recorded their first two albums, also under Meloni’s direction. In other words, ideal conditions.

The moment of truth has arrived for Andi, Dominik, Mätze and Tobi with their third, self-titled offering. Following the amazing success of “Blessings from a Blackened Sky”, a fantastic debut by this act from Austria’s Vorarlberg region who were still completely unknown back then, and “Origin of the Storm”, on which they perfected their sound, blending the essence of their creative work of that time, they are really getting down to business. THE SORROW have moved on to new musical pastures.

The band have learned from the creative process of “Origin of the Storm”, which was marked by tight schedules and high expectations. They have become totally independent in artistic terms, having embarked on a search to find themselves. The result? Their most impressive recording to date. THE SORROW – the album – is unusual, courageous and oozes a musical atmosphere from the first to the last note which is unequalled in today’s metal world.

THE SORROW have redefined themselves, remaining faithful to themselves at the same time. Their classic recipes have given way to an irrepressible urge to explore new terrain. The product of their labours consists of 13 unique songs which combine everything that makes metal great. The new album by THE SORROW not only sees the band break new ground – it also takes its listeners onto musical virgin soil.

The story so far

Autumn 2007 saw a young metal band from Austria’s idyllic Vorarlberg region turn the world of metal upside down with their debut recording. Having been voted Album of the Month by Metal Hammer and awarded 10 x Dynamite by Rock Hard, “Blessings From A Blackened Sky” literally hit the bullseye. Positioned somewhere between typical metalcore and melodic death, these twelve songs fascinated with razor-sharp riffs, brilliant arrangements and great melodies. Playing with tempos – to this day one of the band’s trademarks – had already been developed to perfection on their debut release, and EMP magazine’s comment “The future definitely belongs to THE SORROW” was proved right.

The band soon took international stages by storm. THE SORROW earned themselves a constantly and rapidly growing fan base, performed all over Europe and became Austria’s most successful metal act. Performances at the Wacken, Tuska, Nova Rock, Metal Camp and Rock Hard festivals (see the “Origin of the Storm Limited Edition” bonus CD) and alongside Children Of Bodom, Heaven Shall Burn, Devildriver, Killswitch Engage and Chimaira came next. 14 months after the release of their debut, THE SORROW returned to the Principal Studios near Münster with producer Toni Meloni (Caliban, Die Toten Hosen) to start recording their second album.

“Origin of the Storm” was released in February 2009, the band having perfected their contemporary metal in their familiar brutal and extremely fresh style. Harmonically self-contained, the album featured a wide range of contemporary hard sounds. Polished riffs, well thought-out arrangements and great anthemnic chorus parts summarised the essence of their musical products. Before the release of their album, the band supported Sepultura on their European tour, followed by the “Anchorless” tour in October 2009 with 18 headlining gigs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. THE SORROW have proven their live qualities at countless shows, among them great festivals such as the Nova Rock, Masters of Rock and the warm-up party of the Swiss Sonisphere festival. 2009 saw THE SORROW win the Amadeus Austrian Music Award in the Hard & Heavy category.