THE BEAST

On November 6th, France's Déluge will release their sophomore album, Ægo Templo, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the record, a video for the new single, "Digue" (directed by VCR), can be viewed at:

Déluge comments: "We see life as a perpetual battle with your inner self, and 'Digue' (dike, breakwater) symbolizes that constant fight to stay in the bright side of life. To win this battle, we feel the necessity to embrace the dark part of it, in order to see every little glow in the darkness slowly becoming a strong flame, the need to change our perception to eventually see beauty where it is. But it is a curse and a deep weakness not being able to see beauty otherwise. The different scenes in the music video play with these emotions and the battles you fight with yourself, trying to keep yourself into the light."

The previously released single, "Opprobre", can be heard at: metalblade.com/deluge - where Ægo Templo can also be pre-ordered in the following formats:
- digipak-CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- blue / white / black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- white vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- gold / black dust vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 100 copies) **sold-out**
- gold vinyl (US exclusive)

France has long been a fertile breeding ground for black metal, and one of its best kept secrets is Déluge, who have been kicking up a blend of that genre and post-hardcore since 2014. Dropping their debut full-length Æther in 2015, in 2020 they return with sophomore effort Ægo Templo, a more accessible record that pushes their sound in ever more imaginative directions. "I wanted to go further into something more 'easy to listen to', but I really did not want to lose what we had, that melancholia and the essence of our music," states founding guitarist François-Thibaut Hordé. "It was a very interesting - and exhausting - challenge, and to me we have succeeded. We are really proud of this new record."

Produced by François-Thibaut with assistance from engineers Thibault Chaumont/Deviant Lab studio (Igorrr, Carpenter Brut, Birds in Row) - who also mixed and mastered the album - and Amaury Sauvé / The Apiary studio who recorded the drums, Ægo Templo marks a bold step forward from their earlier recorded output. Featuring clean vocals on almost every track, keyboards and additional instruments on several songs, plus soprano saxophone on "Opprobre", this new offering separates Déluge from their contemporaries, all the while maintaining their identity.

The band also turned to Valnoir from Metastazis Studio in Paris to once again design their artwork, and they asked several artists to guest on the record: Tetsuya Fukagawa of Japanese Screamo legends Envy adds vocals to "Gloire Au Silence"; Matthieu Metzger provides saxophone on "Opprobre"; and Hélène Muesser contributes vocals on "Abysses", "Ægo Templo" and "Digue" - all helping to add further depths to the music.

Ægo Templo track-listing
1. Soufre
2. Opprobre
3. Abysses
4. Fratres
5. Gloire Au Silence
6. Ægo Templo
7. Baïne
8. Digue
9. Béryl
10. Vers

Even in these uncertain times, what comes next for Déluge is clear - their goals are undeniable: "We want to be touring as much as we can, spreading our bright music as much as we can, and going much further than the metal scene can offer us."

After Ægo Templo's release, Déluge will head out on the road with label-mates Igorrr for a tour of France and Switzerland in December. See below for all dates!

Déluge tour dates
w/ Igorrr
Dec. 4 - Rock School Barbey - Bordeaux, France
Dec. 5 - La Nef - Angouleme, France
Dec. 6 - CCN John Lennon - Limoges, France
Dec. 8 - CCO - Lyon, France
Dec. 9 - Espace Malraux - Six-Fours-Les-Plages, France
Dec. 10 - Post Tenebras Rock - Genève, Switzerland
Dec. 11 - La Coopérative de Mai - Clermont Ferrand, France
Dec. 12 - Le Silex - Auxerre, France
Dec. 13 - La BAM - Metz, France
Dec. 15 - Théâtre de Bethune - Bethune, France
Dec. 16 - Le 106 - Rouen, France
Dec. 17 - Big Band Café - Caen, France
Dec. 18 - La Clef - St. Germain en Laye, France
Dec. 19 - File 7 - Magny le Hongre, France

2021 Déluge tour dates
Mar. 6 - Amarok Metal Fest - Aigrefeuille-sur-Maine, France
Mar. 12 - Le Tetris - Le Havre, France
Mar. 13 - Les Cuizines - Chelles, France
Apr. 29 - Merleyn - Nijmegen, France
Apr. 30 - Baroeg - Rotterdam, Netherlands
May 1 - Kulturclub - Mainz, Germany
May 22 - Sonic Rites Festival - Helsinki, Finland
Jun. 3 - Mystic Festival - Gdansk, Poland
Jul. 27 - Metal Days - Tolmin, Slovenia

Déluge online:
https://www.facebook.com/delugebandofficial
https://www.instagram.com/deluge_band/