Track By Tracks: Infernalizer - After Dark (2023)

1. Season Of The Witch:

The first track of the album is, as usual, an instrumental one, it sets the tone for what comes next, I'm a big fan of movie soundtracks and that's the way I want every Infernalizer album to start, with a great atmospheric song that has its roots in 80s horror films soundtracks.

2. The Dark Passenger:

The fastest song of the album, it combines an overall aggressive approach with extremely evocative keyboards. Fast-paced and extremely solid shows the more “metal” side of the band, it's a great song to play live and I'm pretty sure people are gonna love it. Despite being a very focused album I wanted to have some variety between the songs and this track is the typical banger you want to put at the beginning of an album just to show that you can kick ass when you need to. I wrote the lyrics thinking about the inner animal that lives within us all, the most violent side of our nature that never really goes away despite being “civilized” human beings.

3. What Did You Expect?:

It quite fits the “gothic metal meets Alice Cooper” mood we were looking for, so as soon as we finished it we decided it was going to be the first single. It's an overall very balanced and catchy track with a great chorus, the mastering has been done at Sterling Sound Studio in Nashville by legendary Grammy-winning mastering engineer Ted Jensen, giving it an extra boost. The backbone of the track is very 80s metal-oriented, while the vocals switch from crooning gothic verses (pretty much in the vibe of Type O Negative and The 69 Eyes) to more energetic harsh yet melodic vibes in the bridge and chorus, reminiscent of bands like Wednesday 13 and Lordi. The guitar solo is once again inspired by 80s hard rock. Lyrics-wise the track is a tongue-in-cheek reflection filled with black humor on toxic relationships.

4. Moon Of Blood:

Another banger, I really love how the riff kicks you in the teeth while the horror-themed keys create a great contrast, this track is quite rock'n'roll-oriented with an extremely catchy chorus. It represents the more rock and less goth side of the album, another great track to play live. Every track on this album is here for a reason, there are no fillers, so this basically is the powerful rock anthem of the album.

5. After Dark:

After Dark is the last song we wrote for the record and knowing it was going to be the title track we were able to summarize all the various aspects of the album in one song. It showcases all the elements and influences scattered throughout the record fully representing what the band is at the moment. The intro of the track is once again a tribute to 80s horror movie soundtracks with eerie keys providing a haunting melody, the chorus is a love letter to the gothic metal before turning into a darker and more screamy version of Wednesday 13 setting the tone for the nocturnal epicness of the chorus. The lyrics deal with nightmares and creatures that bump in the night while you sleep providing the icing on the cake of one the most solid and evocative tracks of the album.

6. What We Do In The Shadows:

Right after “WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?” the band wrote this one and again as soon as they finished it it was immediately decided it was going to be the second single. It somewhat mirrors on the B side of the vinyl what “WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?” does on the A side, it has been mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound Studio in Nashville as well. While the intro of the track might have a little Ghost vibe it was originally intended as a tribute to Deep Purple, as soon as the song kicks in the whole 80s metal vibe explodes again into another modern-day tribute to what is widely considered the best era of metal and hard rock. The chorus clearly represents the intention to write an arena rock-style anthem to sing with fists in the air, the lyrics focus on the inner fascination with the darker sides of human nature.

7. Death Wish:

This is a very entertaining goth rock song, it has one of the best refrains of the album, I really like the contrast between the harsh yet melodic vocals of the chorus and the deep goth vocals of the verses. Lyrics-wise it's a song about revenge, but the overall mood of the track is almost light-hearted.

8. This Is My Yard:

And this is where the campiness of the album ends and it all turns black, this is probably the beakest track on the album and represents the more serious side of our music. I usually say that this album is 70% Halloween party music and 30% funeral dirge songs, well this is where the funeral begins.

9. Falling In Slow Motion:

It’s completely different from the previous two singles, this is a little bit of a power ballad, it has a lot of different layers to it and represents the darker and less campy side of the album. The female vocals on the chorus really help to emphasize the emotional nature of the track creating a captivating vocal melody while the male vocals switch from the low gothic vibes of the verses (once again very influenced by late Type O Negative singer, Peter Steele) to the death metal growls of the bridges creating a vivid contrast; the central part of the track showcases a more elaborate cinematic atmosphere. As opposed to most of the other songs on the album there is no trace of black humor in the lyrics that focus on the theme of death and departure.

10. Sky Burial:

The proper ending for the album, this is another instrumental track that fully represents the mood of the previous two tracks and closes the circle in the best way possible. The tone is more solemn if compared to the opening track, just like the closing theme for the end titles of a horror movie.