Masters of the Skies, The Quill Return

The Quill return with new studio album Master Of The Skies, promised to carry “a darker tint,” out 8th May through Metalville Records.

Ahead of the release, the Swedish hard rock veterans have been issuing singles from the record, the latest being the sun-baked, riff-driven storm of ‘Light Turns Low’. Check out the video for it below.

Vocalist Magnus Ekwall (Ayreon, Mountain Of Power) said of the album: “We focused a lot on atmosphere. Some songs needed space and restraint, others wanted to explode — I liked letting the light and darkness decide how far to push it.”

Guitarist Christian Carlsson (Cirkus Prütz) added: “This time we didn’t force a Quill sound onto the songs. We let each track build its own identity, even if that meant going down unfamiliar paths.”

The songs are said to move through light and shade, tightening the screws one moment and opening the throttle the next. Heavier without being blunt, moodier without losing swing.

“The big difference on this album is how much it came together as a band. Everyone shaped the songs, and the contrasts grew naturally from that,” said bass player Roger Nilsson (Spiritual Beggars, Arch Enemy, Firebird).

Drummer Jolle Atlagic (Hanoi Rocks, Electric Boys, Firebird) admitted: “We experimented more in the studio than usual. Some ideas stuck, some didn’t — but that trial-and-error is what gave the album its movement.”

Recorded at 491 Studios with Erik Nilsson, the album’s tracklist runs: Master Of The Skies, ‘Dark City’, ‘You Can Not Kill My Soul’, ‘It’s Over’, ‘Son Of Light’, ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’, ‘Now You Are Gone’, ‘Light Turns Low’, ‘Mastodon’ and ‘Master Of The Skies (Reprise)’.

The first single from the album was the dust-kicking, engine-roaring anthem ‘Dark City’. You can check out the video for it below.

A shape-shifting beast of a track, ‘You Can Not Kill My Soul’ has also been released as a single. Again, you can check out the video for it below.