North Carolina’s progressive metal band The Reticent have released a dark and somber cover of Metallica’s classic track ‘Fade To Black’, taken from the band’s forthcoming album ‘The Oubliette’ .
The band’s already somber take on the classic tune is matched up with an equally solemn black and white video. Chris Hathcock, the founder of the band, goes into depth about choosing the cover:
“The original is a timeless classic, but in listening to it I thought that perhaps the sadness of the words were somewhat attenuated by the catchy and driving riffs. It thematically fell right in line with the over concept of ‘The Oubliette’ as that blanket of loneliness and despair can fall over the suicidal and Alzheimer’s patients alike. I decided to reduce the instrumentation as much as possible to increase that sense of isolation and only used effects to increase the atmosphere. Minimalist and empty sounding like a hospital room. The result hopefully draws more attention to the stark hopelessness in the lyrics. The distance and atmosphere in the track are meant to feel not just isolated, but almost ghostly – as if we are hearing the baleful thoughts of a man void of hope trapped in a hospital bed.”
‘The Oubliette’ is due out this year on Heaven & Hell Records, date TBA.
