Trad metal power trio SONJA, featuring former Absu guitarist Melissa Moore, have announced their debut full-length album! "Loud Arriver" will be released on September 23rd 2022 via Cruz Del Sur Music. It was recorded at Creep Recording Studio in Philadelphia by Dan Kishbaugh and Arthur Rizk.

SONJA have just premiered the first single, "Nylon Nights", accompanied by a video clip directed by Zev Deans:

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https://sonjaband.bandcamp.com/album/loud-arriver

Melissa states: "Danger and Desire keep me alive. Possibly the most accurate lyric I've ever written. That's how we ended up in these Nylon Nights. Cis luxuries like "safety" and "stability" have no meaning here. That numbness you feel spreading through you deeper than you thought you went? That's not going away. That's you now. Find us. We'll be playing in the ruins! we are waiting"

Melissa Moore was fired from Texas black metallers Absu in 2017. When she came out as transgender to her bandmates, she figured she would have their support in this most vulnerable moment of her life. Instead, every member of Absu but one shunned her. Moore was dismissed via text message under the claim she had "fired herself" with "her decision".

Undeterred by the collapse of Absu, Moore and Absu touring drummer Grzesiek Czapla (the lone member of the band who supported her transition) set in motion to activate SONJA, a project they started in 2014. Bassist Ben Brand eventually joined the fold, cementing a three-piece lineup that eschews traditional subgenres for a nuanced, hook-laden, passionate and powerful display of heavy rock/metal.

"Loud Arriver" marks the first time that Moore has released a full-length album in ten years and also marks her debut as lead vocalist. It is a cathartic event for Moore: A lot of the music she wrote in that period is now lost due to the adverse circumstances surrounding her gender, but SONJA forged ahead. The global pandemic exacerbated the wait to release "Loud Arriver" but allowed Moore and her bandmates to put additional energy into the album under the concept of "go big or go home".

Indeed, "Loud Arriver" is stacked with big, anthemic songs fitting Moore's impassioned vocal delivery and punctuating guitar work. Through the deft use of minor, melodic-minor and harmonic keys, Moore's guitar-playing channels an atmosphere of urgency and abandon, reflecting the tumultuous period of her transition where hostility and fear greeted her at every corner. Moore's lyrics delve further into these topics, addressing the period she lived her life in secret and self-suppression that led to sorrow and dissociation. And her lyrics also touch upon her desire to retaliate upon those who threaten her very existence for being transgender.

Tracklist:

1. When the Candle Burns Low!
2. Nylon Nights
3. Pink Fog
4. Wanting Me Dead
5. Fuck, Then Die
6. Daughter of the Morning Star
7. Moans from the Chapel
8. Loud Arriver

Line-up:

Melissa Moore - Guitar/Vocals
Ben Brand - Bass
Grzesiek Czapla - Drums

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Photo Credit: Don Vincent Ortega