Photo by Hudson Visuals
Watch/Stream BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS’ “Compulsion” HERE.
New Zealand-based progressive death metal outfit BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS will unleash their long-awaited new full-length, The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me, on October 10th via Prosthetic Records.
What does obsession do to your mind? When you fixate on one particular person, place, or event, it clouds your thoughts, pollutes your feelings, and takes over your very being. You lose yourself and succumb to your basest instincts to pursue this obsession at all costs. BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS channels the extremes of a psychotic break into an ambitious sonic tableau of intricately airtight metal, eerie production, and insidiously memorable screams. Set to this pummeling soundtrack, the New Zealand quintet — Stace Fifield (vocals), Stuart Henley-Minchington (guitar, vocals), Dan Hayston (guitar), Nick Smith (bass), and Anthony “Coota” Asimakopoulos (drums) — implants an immersive story into the core of their fifth full-length offering, The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever done a concept album with one overarching story from start to finish,” notes Henley-Minchington. “You could almost think of it as a movie or a series.”
“The record traces the psychological unraveling of a person consumed by unrequited love,” elaborates Fifield, “As their fixation deepens, affection mutates into obsession, delusion, and violence. The final revelation of the person’s identity reframes the story as a gendered descent into madness — culminating in a brutal, fatal union under the guise of love. This revelation is given as a twist to the listener/reader to further accentuate the poetic effort of the lyrics and story.”
The group has quietly sharpened their attack since emerging in 2010. A series of fan favorite releases bulldozed the way for 2023’s Rejecting Obliteration. Beyond praise from Everything Is Noise, Knotfest, Echoes And Dust, and more, Distorted Sound awarded the latter “9/10,” going on to promise, “Strap yourselves in, it’s quite the ride.” Invisible Oranges touted Rejecting Obliteration among “The Best Heavy Metal Of 2023 So Far,” while Metalsucks highlighted the collective as one of “Five New Zealand Metal Bands You Should Know.” Moreover, they have clocked over one million total streams and counting.
Throughout 2024, they carefully pieced together The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me. For the first time, the musicians took the reins and self-produced the LP. The addition of Hayston and Asimakopoulos also infused a rush of new blood into the creative process. Additionally, they tapped Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Animals As Leaders) to handle mixing and mastering.
The record’s first single, “Compulsion,” breaks down the door with a barrage of double bass and seasick pinch harmonics. The thrashy riff gives way to flashes of impressive tech metal wizardry, and the vocals bellow with bold brutality. “I will go to war and rain hellfire.”
“It was the first song I wrote for this,” recalls Henley-Minchington. “It showed me what the rest of the record could look like since it was immediately faster and far more aggressive, intense, and layered. Right off the bat, I knew, ‘This is going to be our heaviest body of work’. Thematically, you’re seeing the character really descend into madness. The vocals illuminate how the character is coming into the mix. It’s short, sweet, crazy, and no bullshit.”
Watch BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS’ “Compulsion” video HERE.
The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me will be released digitally. Find preorders HERE.
The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me Track Listing:
- Arrows of Golden Light
- Cafuné
- Red
- Compulsion
- The Hardest Thing About Being God Is That No One Believes Me
- Snow Angel
- Black Orchids
- Totem
- 600 Milligrams
- Coalescence (Feat. Hera)
BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS will play a pair of shows this week in Melbourne and Brisbane, respectively, before returning to US soil this Fall with Volcandra. See all confirmed dates below.
BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS Live:
8/22/2025 The Evelyn Hotel – Melbourne, AU
8/23/2025 Necrosonic Festival – Brisbane, AU
w/ Volcandra:
10/10/2025 TBA – Los Angeles, CA
10/11/2025 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
10/12/2025 Transplants Brewing – Palmdale, CA
10/14/2025 DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
10/15/2025 The Dip – Redding, CA
10/16/2025 The High Water Mark – Portland, OR
10/17/2025 Substation – Seattle, WA
10/18/2025 Ray’s Golden Lion – Richland, WA
10/19/2025 The Shredder – Boise, ID
10/20/2025 Aces High Saloon – Salt Lake City, UT
10/22/2025 The Crypt – Denver, CO
10/23/2025 1867 Bar – Lincoln, NE
10/24/2025 Underground Music Venue – Minneapolis, MN
10/25/2025 Club Garibaldi – Milwaukee, WI
10/26/2025 Reggies Music Joint – Chicago, IL
10/28/2025 MiniBar – Kansas City, MO
10/29/2025 89th Street – Oklahoma City, OK
10/30/2025 Tumbleroot Brewery And Distillery – Santa Fe, NM
10/31/2025 TBA – Phoenix, AZ
11/01/2025 The Griffin – Las Vegas, NV
BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS:
Stace Fifield – vocals
Stuart Henley-Minchington – guitars, synths
Dan Hayston – guitars, synths
Nick Smith – bass
Anthony Coota – drums, percussion
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