The wait is almost over – Heart of a Coward will issue their third album Deliverance, on Friday.
“It’s a massive hurdle and one that a lot of bands fail to make,” drummer Noddy told Total MK.
“It’s quite overwhelming looking back on everything we have achieved so far and the fact we’ve reached this point, considering the crazy journey we’ve had as a band.
“It’s something we’re all really proud of.”
The Milton Keynes metal quintet recorded the album in February and March.
Justin Hill, who also spends time on the stage as frontman with Sikth, handled production duties.
“We’ve really found our sound with this new record,” Noddy said.
“It’s got all the elements of the previous two albums, but has been developed.
“We really worked on our songwriting and experimented with some new sounds and layers.
“The third album is always hard because you can’t write the same album twice, but you also can’t stray too far outside of the box.”
Noddy takes us through Deliverance track by track...
Hollow: Mainly about pre-determined destiny, or the illusion of it – so many choices and options but we tend to go for the easiest way.
The idea is a future based on that decision, until ‘the world is ash and dust.’
Miscreation: About how human beings are essentially an unlimited, perfect design that we haven’t even begun to tap into, in terms of our potential – yet we’ve managed to destroy and ruin for thousands of years.
Sounds bleak, but this song is about the aftermath once we realise the damage is too severe to repair.
Turmoil I: A call to arms track relating to our inner strength and versatility when it comes to adapting and surviving – ‘we are amidst the wolves and we won’t back down.’
Turmoil II: The aftermath of the showdown in Part I, this song is about what is left for us to use and build upon as society – slightly biblical in the ‘Meek inherit the earth’ reference, but changed to ‘weak’ of course
Anti-Life: Generally about the pursuit of futile existence – chasing fame or celebrity, celebration of mediocrity – basically all that is rife in media nowadays. It’s an ‘Anti’ life, hence the title.
A Grain of Sand: We have a tendency to ignore our problems until they are facing us direct...once the realisation kicks in we only have so much time to fix them before they are unfixable – that time passes like a grain of sand in an hourglass.
Mouth of Madness: About physical and mental exhaustion from accumulative stress – something that seems very common with people we all know personally and and you can see the physical signs if you look close enough.
The chorus is through the perspective of the person who is on the receiving end of the anger, asking ‘Is this what you want?’ To remain in your prison? Where you won’t see the light any more?’
Deliverance: Mainly about human nature on an emotional level – the way we either find absolute joy or pain in our interactions about dysfunctional relationships and friendships where emotional warfare takes place – then an outsider looking in at it all, wishing they could see what the outsider sees
Skeletal I & II: The entire album so far has what some may interpret as a pretty negative outlook, however it all sort of comes to a conclusion on these two songs.
Conceptually, the record is about the difficulties we face in life, much like our last record, Severance – that record is more about the downward spiral, this is more about addressing the things we separate ourselves from, or embrace, and then dealing with the subsequent events that follow.
So, to cut a long story short, these two songs are about stripping ourselves back to our bare bones and living for the best reason possible, to walk in our own fire that we create and to leave a legacy behind us.
Deliverance will be issued through Century Media Records.
