On June 4th 1994, a quarter of a century ago, Solitary made their solemn pledge – to thrash forever! Exactly twenty five years on from that momentous moment the band have opened pre-orders for their new EP, XXV. XXV is a celebration of the decades of defiance; a glass raised to every triumph along the way, to every obstacle overcome and to an undying dedication to thrash metal!
XXV consists of brand new, 25th Anniversary recordings of Solitary classics, ‘Within Temptation’, ‘Keep Your Enemies Closer’ and ‘Requiem’, alongside two raging live tracks, ‘Architects Of Shame’ and ‘The Diseased Heart Of Society’, captured at the Camden Underworld on March 23rd of this year, when Solitary played alongside Swedish melodic death metallers Darkane.
To make this EP an extra bit special, Solitary have coaxed legendary artist Koot out of retirement to create the stunning cover artwork. Koot made his name in the ’90s creating instantly recognisable artwork for the likes of Saxon, Girlschool, Slammer, The Almighty, Freak Of Nature and The Exploited. Solitary are honoured to add their name to that illustrious list of clients. The dramatic coat of arms that Koot has created for XXV is the perfect distillation of Solitary’s total dedication to the thrash cause; a powerful depiction of their unbreakable pledge of allegiance.
Reflecting on the creation of XXV and the opportunity to work with Koot, Solitary’s founder and frontman Rich Sherrington had this to say:
“When we formed in 1994, I don’t think anyone could have imagined that we’d be still playing 25 years later. We’ve created a lot of memories over the years and have had the opportunity to play with loads of great bands all over the UK and in Europe. With Gaz rejoining we thought it appropriate to celebrate our 25th birthday by releasing something. The original plan was to just go for a digital release but when Koot agreed to come out of retirement to work with us, there was no way that we couldn’t have such an iconic metal artist’s work on a physical product – hence XXV.”
Koot’s artwork will also be adorning some stunning t-shirts which will be available as part of some great pre-order bundles that the band have put together – all of which can be found here
Every fan who makes a pre-order before July 1st will have their name included inside the booklet of XXV as a valued supporter of Solitary, so this also represents a great opportunity make yourself part of Solitary history. Get your orders in now and we’ll see you down the front in your XXV shirts when Solitary descend upon the Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock on August 11th!
Speaking of Bloodstock, keep following the Solitary Facebook page for a chance to win two tickets to the festival! Details coming soon!
For those of you hungry for the next Solitary album, we can also reveal that the band will be in the studio with producer Simon Efemey in December! Exciting times for those who have promised to thrash forever!
Pre-order your copy of XXV here
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