1914 release their fourth LP

Today, the death-metal band released their long-awaited conceptual album Viribus Unitis. It is currently their strongest and most aggressive work, accompanied by a specially created book.

Named after the motto of Emperor Franz Joseph I, “With United Forces,” the new album reflects the band’s own resilience, forged during wartime. Pouring their personal experiences and thoughts into the longplay, the musicians wrapped them in the historical context of World War I events.

“This is a conceptual work, the story of a soldier who lived through the entire Great War, from its very beginning to the final days. A story about the thirst for life, about love,” the artists shared on their Facebook page. 

In addition to the music and lyrics, the album’s narrative is further enriched by a book accompanying the vinyl edition of Viribus Unitis.

“The book is one of the main elements of this album. It provides a detailed overview of every battle celebrated in the album and the protagonist’s place in all of them. As far as we know, we are the first metal band to create a fully illustrated album based on real historical events (but if we’re wrong — let us know who else has done it),” the musicians tell via Facebook.

The musicians produced it with the help of researchers from Austria, Italy, and Ukraine, spending about six months on archival work. During this process, they reviewed dozens of academic studies, hundreds of articles, and thousands of original letters.

The album came out via Napalm Records.

Find the album on streaming platforms

As the artists previously told Neformat, they worked on the album’s sound with engineers from the renowned Swedish Fascination Street Studio, a studio specializing exclusively in heavy music. This time, they also collaborated with a male choir, adding the epic dimension their music required. At the same time, the album features several guest appearances: Christopher Scott of Precious Death on the track “1918 Pt 2: POW (Prisoner of War),” Aaron Stainthorpe of High Parasite and My Dying Bride on “1918 Pt 3: ADE (A Duty to Escape),” and Jérôme Reuter of Rome on “1919 (The Home Where I Died).”

Earlier, the musicians spoke to Neformat about the first single from this album.

1914 is a death-metal band formed in Lviv in 2014, marking the centenary of World War I. This very theme became the foundation for the band’s songs. Their music is a blend of styles, including doom and death metal. Their discography includes four albums, a split with American band Minenwerfer, an EP, and several singles. Since 2019, their music has been released on Napalm Records.

1914 on socials:

https://www.instagram.com/1914_official_page/
https://www.facebook.com/1914band

Cover photo — from the band's Facebook page