Hundred Suns Gear Up For The Release Of Debut LP, 'The Prestaliis'

18 July 2017 | 5:13 pm | Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

Are you ready for the new Hundred Suns record? If not, you should be!

Are you ready for the new Hundred Suns record? If not, you should be!



At the risk of giving this band the often-dreaded 'supergroup' label, for many out there, a band featuring Norma Jean frontman Cory Brandan, impressive in-and-out Every Time I Die drummer Ryan "Legs" Leger, and principal songwriter, Chris LeMasters - the guitarist for Canadian post-hardcore band Dead & Divine - is indeed a damn fine supergroup.

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However, regardless of the member's respective other works, Hundred Suns aren't a band that wants nor needs to rest on their collective laurels and simply rely on name association and prior goodwill, as their incredible new single, 'Amaranthine' more than proves. Straight up, out of the mere four songs that this new project has released so far, it is 'Amaranthine' that stands the tallest and the strongest of them. And I have a very good feeling that this new song will be indicative of the astonishing sounds and quality we'll hear on the trio's debut album, 'The Prestaliis'.

The immense 'Amaranthine' follows on from the release of record's first track, 'Last Apology'; a track that authentically and wonderfully mixed bass-driven doomy grooves, tight yet scorching riffs with a creeping melodic sensibility that shows the band merging the very best parts of Norma Jean with powerful alt-rock moments. This newer song is but the second track from their much-anticipated debut album and is "dedicated to the millions of people who have been preyed upon by human traffickers. You are not forgotten" as Brandan himself put it on social media for the song's release.

You can stream 'Amaranthine' via Spotify right here - and trust me, you don't want to be missing out on this mighty song. Likewise, if you pick it up via iTunes, please know that a portion of the proceeds from your download will go on to support, Thorn (yes, the very same organisation that Ashton Kutcher co-founded and spoke about in front of the U.S. Senate) in their fight against sex-traffickers and child abusers in the America. Really, it's great music going towards an ever greater cause!

Hundred Suns Album Art

Following a successful crowd-funding campaign for their album, the trio channeled their acquired dosh and musical energies into recording the album with producer/engineer Sam Guaiana (Like Pacific), vocal engineer/producer Jeremy SH Griffith (Norma Jean, Underoath), and producer/mixer and Saosin guitarist, Beau Burchell (who has also worked with other bands like Blaqk Audio and The Bronx).

Initially, LeMasters apparently assembled a massive stockpile of songs with the Norma Jean vocalists overall vocal and lyrical sensibilities in mind after the duo got to know each other quite well when sharing a bus together while touring across Europe. The songs that first came as a solid proof of concept for this band were 'Fractional' and 'Bedburner'; two songs that feature many of the pre-pro demo ideas that began the original foundation of this band;s work. Be sure to stream those prior two songs if you're craving more from Hundred Suns - as you rightfully should be.

Now, in terms of the journey that this always-busy trio has made for this new band, Brandan recently told Loudwire that It was a long four-year road to get here and the album is everything I hoped it would be and more. We set out to make something unique and meaningful. I know it’s at least one of those things. To me, it’s both.

Likewise, in a recent studio vlog released on the band's YouTube, Leger's talks about how the drumming on this record is more akin to what he actually loves as a drummer and is a style that he's wanted to play on a record for years; that these songs will show his purest form of playing. He mentions that "Every other band I joined already had a drummer for a set amount of years. So you had to kind of come in and do the other guys job first of all then add your own flare on top of that" and that, "everything for this drum wise has been built from the ground up, from the drum choice, the cymbal choice, the head choice, to the fill choices and the style of playing and stuff like that. It's all my own." As a drummer myself, I genuinely respect that honest approach here in his playing.

Hundred Suns' 'The Prestaliis' lands on Friday, August 11th via New Damage Records and I am so fucking keen for it!



With the band touring across America throughout August in celebration of their debut record (and with my beloved Sunndrug supporting them no less), hopefully, we'll one day see them on Aussie shores. Fingers tightened and crossed hard.