''Esoteric'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

band Skyfire. It was released on 14 September in the United Kingdom, 18 September for the rest of Europe and October 13, 2009 in North America, through

Pivotal Rockordings Pivotal Rockordings is a record label that was founded in 2004 by Leevan Macomeau and Alexi Front. Following its inception, Pivotal Rockordings signed its first artist, Sonic Syndicate, a melodic death metal band from Falkenberg, Sweden and relea ...

. The

cover artwork Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper (Tabloid journalism, tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), Album, ...

was made by Pär Olofsson who also created the artwork for other acts such as

The Faceless The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, ''Akeldama'', in November 2006, and a follow-up, '' Planetary Duality'', in November 2008. The band's third ...

Psycroptic Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Australia in 1999. Mainstay members are Dave Haley on drums and his brother Joe Haley on guitar. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they signed ...

and

Spawn of Possession Spawn of Possession was a Swedish technical death metal group, which formed in 1997 in Kalmar. The band have collectively released three studio albums. A fourth album was planned, but in 2017 the band announced their split up. Biography Spawn of ...

along with the layout by Erik Olofsson of

Cult of Luna Cult of Luna is a Swedish heavy metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. They are known for post-metal music similar to the contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. The band was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, i ...

. Martin Hanner revealed that the album is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

and that "The cover is basically a guy who is being initiated by a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

," he further responded with: The band was also going for an epic sound inspired by the likes of

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael Lep ...

and

Bal-Sagoth Bal-Sagoth ( /baʊl 'sægɑθ/ ''b-owl SA-goth'') were a symphonic black metal band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993. Originally formed as an epic symphonic black metal band with strong death metal elements, vocalist/lyrici ...

. A

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and orchestra was said to be added to their overall sound but it is unclear as to what extent they would be used. As for bonus tracks, the band and label decided on releasing material previously unheard by the public from their demo ''Within Reach''. At this time, the band used clean vocals as opposed to

growling vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

. The album has been distributed via Koch Distribution, in cooperation with

Listenable Records Listenable Records is an independent metal label originally founded in 1990 in France. The label specializes in metal, with a focus on extreme metal music. The company has published albums from many acclaimed extreme metal bands, such as Immo ...

. The album encountered a delay for the North American release due to a scheduling issue.

Track listing

Personnel

Band members *Joakim Karlsson – vocals *Martin Hanner – bass guitar, keyboards *Andreas Edlund – guitar, keyboards *Johan Reinholdz – guitar *Joakim Jonsson – drums Artwork *

Cover artwork Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper (Tabloid journalism, tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), Album, ...

by Pär Olofsson *Layout by Erik Olofsson (

)

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Skyfire (band) albums Concept albums Albums with cover art by Pär Olofsson