We at Indie Recordings are extremely proud to present ILLT! Get ready for some raw and mind-blowing Extreme Metal illustrating the ugliness of this world in the masterpiece “Urhat” (due 2021), made by the talented Roy Westad.
ILLT is the alter ego of Norwegian composer and guitarist Roy Westad. It’s an uncompromising sandbox and a culmination of decades of passion and love for extreme metal as an artform. His debut album «Urhat» features session musicians from Megadeth, Soilwork, Chrome Division and Nile. The album was mixed by Kurt Ballou @ Godcity and mastered by Grammy winning engineer Alan Douches.
«I’m stoked and honored to be joining Indie Recordings’ roster and look forward to carrying out ILLTs long term plans alongside a local team of dedicated professionals. For me as a solo act, it’s crucial to have access to creative individuals with a fresh pair of ears and eyes, who understand my art and vision, and thus provide the vital knowledge and optimal strategy for hitting my target audience.» - ILLT
"We`re thrilled to welcome Illt to Indie Recordings, a truly special project by a super talented group of musicians – spearheaded by mastermind and visionary Roy Westad. Impossible to categorize, but easy to like if you prefer your metal brutal and dark!" - Erlend Gjerde, Managing Director of Indie Recordings
Roy started out as a guitarist before establishing himself as a film composer back in 2008. Since then, he has been involved in countless film and TV projects and received the Norwegian Emmy for Best Original Score in 2014. But he always held extreme metal close to his heart. In some ways, things are now coming full circle. His background as a guitarist helped form his style as a film composer, and his film scoring career has helped in developing the form of ILLT.
Now he’s ready to unleash his debut «Urhat» (meaning something like «ancient hate» in Norwegian) on the world! With him on the album are some well-known names in metal; Dirk Verbeuren on drums (Megadeth), Speed Strid on vocals (Soilwork), as well as lead guitarists Karl Sanders (Nile) and Mr.Damage from Chrome Division. The album is set for release early fall 2021 and is an eclectic yet seamless blend of groovy and blackened death/thrash/ doom/rock. Brutal yet melodic, modern yet raw.
ILLT states: «I have a pretty schizophrenic musical taste, I’m quickly bored, and I hate rules and boundaries. This album was written by pure instinct on my own terms, and the result is a genre-defying and emotional ride through intense riff-based metal». The lyrical themes are centered around anger, hopelessness and contempt for the human race, and deal with the darkest sides of religion, politics and de-evolution.
The music of “Urhat” is peeling off the rotten layers of the world track by track. The first single will be out in Jan 2021 via Indie Recordings!
Tracklist:
1. Millennial Judas
2. Sons Of The Northern Lights
3. Scythian King
4. Blood Of The Unbeliever
5. Every Tree A Gallow
6. The End Of All Things
«Urhat» credits:
Vocals: Speed Strid
Guitars & Bass: ILLT
Drums: Dirk Verbeuren
Lead Guitars: Karl Sanders, Mr.Damage
Music & Lyrics by ILLT
Mixed by Kurt Ballou
Mastered by Alan Douches
Album photo by Jo Bergersen
Design and layout by Carl Stjärnlöv
Drums recorded at Northwood Sound Studios, Hollywood
Engineered by Adair Daufembach
Dirk Verbeuren exclusively uses Tama, Meinl, Evans, Roland, Toontrack, JH Audio