Hear Converge's Jacob Bannon Go Death Metal in New Supergroup Umbra Vitae | Revolver

Hear Converge's Jacob Bannon Go Death Metal in New Supergroup Umbra Vitae

Blast lead single "Return to Zero" from band also featuring Hatebreed, Red Chord, Job for a Cowboy alums

"I absolutely adore being in Converge — it's been a part of the fabric of my being since I was a kid," the band's frontman Jacob Bannon tells us. "I've spent more than half my life in it. But it's also not really a metal band, although it has metal leanings at times and it's hyper-aggressive. This is the closest thing I've done that's rooted in more traditional death metal, at least in terms of speed and ferocity and heaviness."

He's talking about his new death-metal quintet Umbra Vitae (named after a poem by Georg Heym, first published in 1912), who are gearing up to drop their 10-song debut LP, Shadow of Life, digitally on May 1st on Bannon's own Deathwish Inc. (You can pre-order it here.) Like the antagonistic shadow sibling of the singer's post-rock group Wear Your Wounds, the band also features WYW guitarists Sean Martin (Twitching Tongues, ex-Hatebreed) and Mike McKenzie (the Red Chord, Stomach Earth), as well as bassist Greg Weeks (the Red Chord) and drummer Jon Rice (Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, ex-Job for a Cowboy). Today, Umbra Vitae have teamed with Revolver to unleash the album's lead single, the ferocious "Return to Zero." Blast it above, and check out Bannon's comments on the song and see the album's cover art (by Janusz Jurek) and track listing below.

"'Return to Zero' is about removing resistance in one's life in order to be best version of 'you' that one can be," Bannon says. "I feel that this is a relatable topic for many. What resistance is and how it manifests is unique to every single one of us. For me, this is a constant process and essential to being a better husband, father, friend, artist and human. Below you'll find a section of the lyrics that state this better than I can in paragraph form. Thank you to everyone who continues to listen.

"Bite down on the chain
Bow down to no one
Destroy the ego
Radiate love
Carve out a purpose
Where there was none
Compassionately
Wipe up the blood
Remove resistance
And exit the cage
Climb to your feet
Accept your rage
It's time to reclaim
What's rightfully yours
Bite down on the chain
And bow down to no one"

umbra vitae cover art

Shadow of Life track listing:
Decadence Dissolves
Ethereal Emptiness
Atheist Aesthetic
Mantra of Madness
Fear Is a Fossil    
Polluted Paradise
Intimate Inferno
Return to Zero
Blood Blossom
Shadow of Life