It's been more than a decade since Oklahoma's the Agony Scene offered up any new music; now the metalcore veterans are gearing up to release Tormentor, the fourth album many fans never thought they'd get to hear, this summer via Outerloop/Cooking Vinyl. (You can pre-order it here.) Arriving July 20th, the follow-up to 2007's Get Damned finds the band addressing religion, psychosis and bloodshed, and as guitarist Chris Emmons puts it, "the idea of an insane manipulative creator, a tormentor of all mankind."
Ahead of Tormentor's arrival, the Agony Scene have linked up with Revolver to unveil a grim visual for "Hand of the Divine," an At the Gates–esque melodic-death-metal scorcher off the new LP. Both the song and the video were largely inspired by the true story of John Rubio, a Texas man who murdered his three children in 2003 because he believed they'd been possessed by demons.
"The video for 'Hand of the Divine' follows along the theme of an insane creator, but does have some loose parallels with the Rubio murders," Emmons explains. "It tells the story of the binding of Isaac, which can be found in the texts of the Abrahamic religions. This story finds god demanding Abraham to sacrifice his son as an offering, proving his love and obedience. An insane and criminal act by modern standards and law. The story is portrayed a bit loosely, taking interpretations from multiple texts."
The Agony Scene released three albums during their original seven-year run — a self-titled record on Solid State, The Darkest Red via Roadrunner and Get Damned with Century Media — before breaking up in 2008, citing the financial difficulties of being in a touring metal band. The group reunited to play select shows in 2014 and, at the time, hinted at new music, which has now come to fruition.
