Portugal-based industrial metal project Spiralist, the brainchild of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bruno Costa, has presented the first taste, the "Baptism By Fire" single and video, of its upcoming third full-length, Violent Feathers, set for release on 23 May.

Spiralist on "Baptism By Fire": "It tells the story of a traumatic relationship with a sociopath who uses gaslighting, ghosting and the unverifiable promise of a terminal disease to manipulate the narrator, who begins failing to discern between truth and lie, and whose own savior complex drives him to the brink of a mental collapse".

Spiralist on Violent Feathers: "I started writing Violent Feathers in February of 2022 when I decided to undergo psychotherapy. The choice to go to therapy stemmed from my need to address deeply rooted, unresolved vulnerabilities, as my incapability to express them bluntly and dive into my trauma threatened to destroy my life and damage the lives of those around me.

Severe communication problems and a deep aversion to conflict led to a familiar cycle: failing to speak up in abusive situations, isolating myself, reaching a breaking point, and manifesting rage in hurtful ways. One morning in February of 2022, I had a nervous breakdown and made my decision.

The weekly therapy sessions lasted from February to June. It felt like diving into the ocean, where the pressure only increases the deeper you go. The songs tell you exactly what was addressed, but family, abusive relationships with narcissistic and sociopathic people, a saviour complex and a case of continuous sexual harassment were thoroughly explored.

Admitting I needed therapy yielded immediate results. I woke up one morning with four chords in my head, jumped out of bed, grabbed a guitar, and wrote "Disintegration" in less than 30 minutes. Next, "Hell Froze Over". After that, "Deeper". From February to September of 2022, I dedicated two weeks to a new song and then moved on to the next one. This includes a very considerable amount of material that was left on the cutting room floor. I then took a break until 2022 was over, and in January of 2023, I wrote "Baptism By Fire" and "Closure" before moving on to the album's interludes, improving the record's sound design and writing all lyrics in the next few months. Guests contributed to the album in studio sessions in September and December 2023. Mixing and mastering, along with the development of the album's music videos, photography and artwork, were all completed throughout 2024.

By the time the 2023 studio sessions happened, I found myself mentally exhausted and on the brink of burnout from simultaneously dealing with the collapse of a long-term relationship and being the president of A.L.M.A. STOP, an association responsible for a 500+ artist building complex in Porto under political and financial threats that endangered a whole community of creators. Figuring that if I was to lose almost everything - sanity included - I might as well get a record out of it, I chose to put all of my time, energy and resources into this album.

The album is designed in the manner of several therapy sessions, where each song is a piece of a puzzle waiting to be put together and made sense of. The songs bleed into one another to create a cinematic sense of continuity and purposefully reward repeated listens.

Nothing is given away. But the answers are there.

Violent Feathers is the result of brutally honest songwriting. A lifetime of traumatic experiences encapsulated in a singular piece of music. It cost me everything. But it is my defining statement and the best thing I have ever done". Link

Violent Feathers tracklist:
01 - Hell Froze Over
02 - Parasites
03 - Disintegration
04 - damaged goods
05 - Underbelly
06 - God Unknown
07 - Glasseater
08 - you weren't supposed to see this
09 - Deeper
10 - Baptism By Fire
11 - all plots move deathward
12 - Death Throes
13 - sometimes i just disappear
14 - Closure