"As Harbinger, we’re a unit. By the end product, everybody’s had their part. Harbinger writes the music." As their UK tour in support of Sylosis came to a close, Charlie Griffiths of Harbinger talked to us about the group’s latest EP, ‘A Letter To Anguish,’ and what lies ahead for the band.

Harbinger’s sound has evolved greatly, even since the release of their debut album ‘Compelled To Suffer’ in 2019. When asked about why, Charlie reflected on how the band’s writing process has changed over time— "I guess we were still learning how to work with each other, and also getting better at songwriting. The majority of ‘Compelled To Suffer’ were songs that Ben Sutherland had been working on for a long time, so it definitely has it own vibe, whereas ‘A Letter to Anguish’ had a lot more collaborative songwriting." Charlie also cited the group’s change in vocalist in 2020 as a turning point for the band, mentioning how new singer Dilan Alves is "the lyric writer of the band" and a key songwriter for much of the group’s modern output.

These shifting processes can be heard throughout ‘A Letter To Anguish,’ which Charlie described as "a reflection of Harbinger as a unit, from 2020 to 2022." Throughout the group’s newest release, the band introduce their most melodic and memorable passages to date— Charlie was sure to point out, however, that the band are far from abandoning their death metal roots. "I guess as a whole it is a bit more melodic— especially with the tracks ‘A Letter To Anguish’ and ‘Guiltless’— but some of the sections that are heavier are a bit more slamming." This mix of heavier metal passages and more harmonious sections appears to be a sound the group are keen to explore in the future— speaking on the group’s future output, Charlie mentioned how "we do like those melodic choruses and it will have the orchestration, but maybe it’ll be a bit more death metal. I definitely feel like that’s what Harbinger is going to become."

Charlie was also happy to discuss the striking artwork for ‘A Letter To Anguish,’ which sees the band abandoning their previously fiery visual style for a more muted and gritty aesthetic. The EP’s cover (courtesy of Simon Atkinson) is a combination of six artworks: these visuals— including a bird of peace, an alligator’s eye and a distorted face— are emblematic of many of the themes present throughout the record. As Charlie explained, "the idea was that each piece of art was to symbolise the overall message of each single. ‘Prayer of Deliverance’ is about the situation that happened not that long ago with people trying to come over from France, and about the whole debate surrounding if the UK should let them in. We feel that there’s a lot of injustice in the world, and the public can only do some much: it’s the governments and the large corporations that have the money and the power to make the biggest change. It’s about the injustice in the world and how we’re not happy about it." As well as these political themes, Charlie discussed how members of the band were unafraid to delve into more personal territory on cuts such as ‘Antagonist’ or ‘Hate File’— "many tracks are written quite personally by Dilan. Dilan was reflecting on some grievances in past relationships."

Moving onto the band’s recent touring with acts such as Sylosis or Rivers of Nihil, Charlie confirmed that the band are extremely grateful to get to play with such renowned acts. "It’s a great opportunity, especially as an independent band. Playing on stages with those kinds of bands has been amazing. It’s really great that people who haven’t seen us before feel wowed enough to want to invest in us, and we’re really grateful that Sylosis asked us to go out with them." When asked further about the impact that contemporary groups have on Harbinger, Charlie confirmed that "when you tour with a band, it definitely influences you. After we toured with Decapitated, there were a couple of demos that were very Decapitated-like, but when songs are finished, they’re always going to sound like Harbinger. It would be nice to think that the bigger bands touring with us hear something fresh in our sound that they like, and hopefully that inspires them."

As things wound down, Charlie detailed a number of exciting projects and releases on the horizon for Harbinger. The group were playing a previously unreleased song on their recent tour, and it seems that the track is well on its way to release— "we’re working with Jeff Dunn— a well-known producer in metal— and we’re very excited to get to work with him. Once that’s done, we’ll have a new single coming out very soon. Then we’re still working on songs, so there will be follow-up material to that, hopefully out by the end of the year. That’s our plan." Charlie also detailed a number of live outings for the band coming throughout 2024, including a London show on May 18th, a performance in Liverpool on June 1st and more shows that are currently unannounced. Indeed, Harbinger’s future seems very bright— "we’re not ready to stop. We’re always going."