ELM STREET – The Great Tribulation

Following an ambitious multi-year tour that saw the band bring their heavy metal power to Europe, Canada and the USA, the Australian heavy metal band ELM STREET finally returns with their third album: “The Great Tribulation”

A soundtrack for troubled times, or a charred mirror reflecting the state of the world today, “The Great Tribulation” provides commentary on the darker side of life, and pairs it with the band’s most ambitious and hard-hitting music to date.

ELM STREET’s first two albums, “Barbed Wire Metal” and “Knock ‘Em Out… With A Metal Fist”, have both been revered as modern classics by fans of traditional-flavoured heavy metal, and “The Great Tribulation” seeks to take the template set by the two albums preceding it, and amplifies it by several notches, resulting in the band’s most powerful, complex, and heavy performances recorded to date.

Everything about “The Great Tribulation” encapsulates a band at the peak of their powers, from the 11-minute epic album opener “Seven Sirens”, through to the explosively savage album closer “A State of Fear”. ELM STREET have left no stone un-turned in expressing their diverse musical palette, resulting in a wide-ranging collection of songs that stand tall individually, but extremely powerful as a collective unit.

It’s not just the album opener and closers that are the highlights of this album, every song on its own could be a lead single from the album, however the band have chosen their most hard hitting and direct songs to lead the charge for now: The party metal/punk hybrid “Take The Night” and the thrash/groove of “The Price Of War”. These are bound to be highlights of future live performances, and the music videos directed by long-time collaborator Gareth McGilvray capture the energy and excitement both songs deliver.

Also to be found on the album are the anthemic call to arms “If Provoked, Will Strike”; the mid-tempo hammer from hell “Behind The Eyes Of Evil”, featuring some of the band’s most shocking lyrics yet (even more shocking is that it’s based on real events); the epic instrumental “The Last Judgement”, which has
been re-recorded and re-vamped from the original lock-down release back in 2021, and the elaborate and future-classic ballad “The Darker Side Of Blue”, which not only presents vocalist Ben Batres’ most powerful performance to date, but is backed up with a full orchestral arrangement that needs to be heard to be believed.

There is no doubt that album number three from the thunder from down under will be well received by old fans and new alike and set a very high benchmark for what to expect in the future. If you are a fan of classic powerhouses like Helloween, Judas Priest, Hammerfall, or Manowar, get ready for the ride of your life!
The album was recorded at Melbourne’s legendary Sing Sing Studios, in fact, may be one of the last albums recorded in its current location. Luke Cincotta (Airbourne, The Amity Affliction, Butterfly Effect, Karnivool, Northlane) was the master behind the recording desk, and German legend Michael Mainx (Toxpack,
Tankard, Destruction) mixed the album.

The striking front cover was painted by Andreas Marschall (Kreator, In Flames, Sodom, Blind Guardian), and the album design and additional artwork provided by Dark Prince Graphix. The photos of the band included in the album artwork were taken by multi-time Australian Photographer of the Year Peter Coulson

Tracklist:

01 – Seven Sirens
02 – Take The Night
03 – The Price Of War
04 – If Provoked, Will Strike
05 – Behind The Eyes Of Evil
06 – The Last Judgement
07 – The Darker Side Of Blue
08 – A State Of Fear

Line-Up:

– Ben Batres – Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
– Aaron Adie – Lead Guitar
– Nick Ivkovic – Bass Guitar
– Tomislav Perkovic – Drums