TWELVE FOOT NINJA RELEASE NEW ALBUM 'VENGEANCE' AND EPIC

TWELVE FOOT NINJA

RELEASE NEW ALBUM

‘VENGEANCE’ AND EPIC

FANTASY NOVEL ‘THE WYVERN

AND THE WOLF’

Australia’s Twelve Foot Ninja have just released their long awaited third full length album VENGEANCE – and at the same time – a high fantasy novel – that has already sold over half of its print run before release date! The sample chapters made available on the website highlighted the immersive story-telling and intriguing characters in the novel, inspiring a rush on pre-orders of the 1000 page paperback from the band’s website! The album and novel are available for purchase at https://www.twelvefootninja.com/merch.

Over the past few months the band has released three singles as appetizers: Long Way Home, Start The Fire and Over and Out (featuring Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer). Each single was accompanied by highly entertaining videos – and not ones to rest on any laurels, they also released a graphic novel and a video game Uncle Brusnik.

Twelve Foot Ninja has never neatly fit into one musical genre, and true to form, VENGEANCE sees them explore a whole new rich sonic palette. In a sense, the album cover artwork says it all – a decrepit ’80s-era arcade video game listing sideways after being rudely plunged into the cracked earth of a dystopic wasteland. It’s a nexus where pinball meets post-truth.

Guitarist Stevic Mackay summed up the strange beast that VENGEANCE is as follows:
“There are definitely some ‘80s inspired permeations in the genre permutations, but I think we became clearer on the distinction between ‘songs’ and ‘riffs’; there’s a clear harmonic bone-structure carrying all of the songs”.

The title track Vengeance features a squall of industrial-grade synthesized guitars intercut by a patter of digital beats and a sinewy, Tokyo-tech cabaret feel. The ominous intro builds the tension to an expected crescendo, only to pull it back which forces you to focus on the lyrics….seemingly a deliberate decision aligned with the band’s much talked about prioritisation on wordsmithing of this album. The Lyric Video for Vengeance is streaming now

Excluding the singles already released, some notable tracks on the album include IDK which fuses an 8-bit side-scroller vibe, slinky bass, sardonic lyrics and a megalithic nu-metal riff. Shock to the System proves another album highlight. The vocoder intro, hook-laden verses and stadium-sized chorus work together to brutally skewer our culture’s increasing reliance on technology and the perils of transhumanism. In typical Twelve Foot Ninja fashion, however, the middle of the song detours into a board-trotting, spoken-word pantomime, as a depraved vaudevillian villain plots his own AI-enabled immortality.

There’s the disco-ball boogie of Gone, the band’s heaviest excursion to date Culture Warand their most tender and biggest surprise – Tangled, a sparse but sophisticated slice of cinematica, that sees the band paint with simple brushstrokes; stripped-back acoustic guitar, mournful melodies and soaring orchestration. As the band’s first real ballad, it offers a truly moving, emotionally resonant denouement to the entire album.

Twelve Foot Ninja’s 3rd album VENGEANCE is a veritable roller coaster sonic experience.

About the album and accompanying content, Stevic Mackay said: “This is an exorcism of content that’s spent a decade in gestation. ‘Catharsis’ is close to what it feels like to finally share Kiyoshi’s story; and I guess respond to all questions pertaining to our name; All this time, so many have thought ‘Twelve Foot Ninja’ was tongue-in-cheek, when in actuality, the story’s genesis occurred a year before the formation of the band. I really hope our fans enjoy the vastness of what we’ve created, and we’re able to continue to surprise people with new methods of storytelling.”

Twelve Foot Ninja’s third album VENGEANCE is OUT NOW through Volkanik. All the information about PROJECT VENGEANCE can be found at twelvefootninja.com.

WHAT MEDIA IS SAYING:

“Twelve Foot Ninja continue to dick-punch the boundaries of what a metal band should rightfully be capable of.”

– Music Feeds

“…a band hell-bent on evolution while staying true to the spirit of their sonic psyche… Twelve Foot Ninja are still one of the country’s most invigorating bands no matter what genre(s) they turn their deft hands to.”
– TheMusic.com.au / 4 Stars

“Twelve Foot Ninja have used the five years since Outlier extremely well, stepping up at every level to ensure this is a rock-fusion experiment par excellence that is hard to fault. Vengeance is a new benchmark for avant-garde rock.”
– Hysteria Mag 10/10

“While the conceptual side of Twelve Foot Ninja is stronger than ever, the music itself feels far more focused, with many of the quirks and oddities of their back catalogue reigned in somewhat to showcase a heavier, more impressionable sound.”

– Blunt Mag

“…while VENGEANCE contains no shortage of robust and technically complex heaviness, riff-porn it ain’t. The band consistently shake things up with injections of electronic instrumentation, mariachi, eighties synth-pop and Mr. Bungle-esque jazz punk.”
– Tone Deaf

“…you’re served a mixed platter of delight and chaos that is hard to turn away… Twelve Foot Ninja aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and that couldn’t make me happier…”

– Everblack Media

ADVANCE COPY REVIEWS OF THE WYVERN & THE WOLF

“Unputdownable. Leaves you breathless for more…”

“The writing is world class. Evocative, imaginative, thought-provoking. I loved the emotional, political and philosophical elements to it. The book was very powerful. Tragic, even.”

“A tour de force in high fantasy and world-building…”

“Steampunk meets sci-fi samurai. Imagine SHŌGUN crossed with GAME OF THRONES, but with ninja, evil priests, monsters, intrigue, tragedy, vengeance, high action, and more thrown into the mix…”

“Brutal yet beautiful. A richly imagined world with deeply flawed heroes and villains you almost feel sorry for. Thrilling. The ending left me with my heart in my mouth…”

“Extraordinary. Original. You’re pulled right in. Think George R.R. Martin meets Cormac McCarthy. An immersive and highly moving tale of conspiracy, adventure, betrayal, survival, cruelty, love and loss.”

“An incredible piece of writing and a beautifully constructed page-turner. In this epic and imaginative tale, there’s unexpected twists aplenty, characters to love, and even more to hate. I was emotionally invested…”

“Beautifully written. It’s a far step up from a lot of fantasy fiction and the story is gripping. Full of cliffhangers that left me wanting more.”

“The descriptions are vivid but never at the expense of pacing; the word choice and phrasing is colourful, but never in a way that feels contrived. The reader is seldom conscious of the fact they are reading. The style just feels very authentic, unforced and effortless…”

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