Extol Say They’ve Had “A Long Journey, But It’s Not Over,” Tease New Music in the Process
Christian progressive metal may not seem like the most likely subgenre a website full of swear words and cynicism about heavy metal would cover, but when it comes to Extol, we’ll make an exception. Earlier this year, the band had announced they were reuniting and playing Furnace Fest, leaving fans to wonder if there’ll be any more music from the group after a nearly decade-long hiatus.
Yesterday morning, fans got an answer to that question in a rather lengthy Facebook post commemorating the band’s 30th anniversary, among other milestones. the entire post will be shared below, but the general gist of it is that the band started as the brainchild of two cousins and over the years it turned into more way more. And while things weren’t always easy, the band said they were ultimately looking forward to what came next.
“We are so grateful for all the fine people we have met over the years, and all the great bands we’ve had the pleasure of playing with. It has been a long journey, but it’s not over. We have a couple of shows this fall, and there are rumors of Extol members meeting in the studio.”
Now obviously when they say “there are rumore of Extol members meeting in the studio,” they really mean “yo, we’re in the studio and possibly working on some new material.” They just wanted to be cute with their fans.
Still, once completed, any new album would be the band’s first in 10 years since their self-titled effort was released back in 2013.
Over the years, the band has gone through a couple lineup changes. As of now, the band is comprised of drummer David Husvik and guitarist and vocalist Ole Børud, along with guitarist Christer Espevoll (who left in 2004), guitarist Tor Magne Glidje (who left the band in 2007), and Fleshkiller guitarist and vocalist Elisha Mullins, who’s handling Peter Espevoll’s post during the band’s live commitments. We don’t know who will end up behind the mic in the studio, however.
“The Extol anniversaries are abundant this year.
“30 years ago, the summer of 1993, the 16 year old cousins David Schwarz Husvik and Christer Espevoll decided to start a band. To begin with we practiced at Davids parents’ house (God bless their souls!) and right away we decided that we didn’t want to be a cover band. We were determined to write our own music. Needless to say we didn’t sound amazing the first couple of years, but eventually we felt like we had come up with something that deserved the light of day, and in 1996 we released three songs on «Northern Lights», a Norwegian metal compilation released by Steve Rowes Rowe productions. As Mortification fans this was a big deal for us. By now Christer’s brother, Peter Espevoll, had joined on vocals in addition to Emil Nicholaisen on guitars and Eystein Holm on bass.
“Later in 1996 we released another three songs on the Embraced demo, and the Extol sound was starting to crystalize. Around the same time Emil decided that he wanted to embark on his own musical path and that opened the door for Ole Børud to join us. Looking back, there has been so many inspiring encounters and experiences that made a strong impression and paved the way for a long Extol journey. Some of these are:
* When David and Emil went to the Cornerstone Festival in 1996
*Our first show outside of Norway when we played in Stockholm in ’96 and met the Selfmindead guys
*Seeing GROMS at Romjulsrock in ’94 – they set the bar for circle headbanging
*Meeting and working with Samuel Durling who signed us on his label when nobody else would. He was a decisive contributor to our visual expression.
*Our first US shows at Texas Rock Fest and Cornerstone in ’98
“We are so grateful for all the fine people we have met over the years, and all the great bands we’ve had the pleasure of playing with. It has been a long journey, but it’s not over. We have a couple of shows this fall, and there are rumors of Extol members meeting in the studio.”
