THY ART IS MURDER's 'Holy War' Cracks Australian Top 10

"Holy War", the third album from the Australian deathcore band THY ART IS MURDER, has entered the official Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) chart at position No. 7 — the highest-ever position for an Australian extreme metal act. The Sydney-based band has generated controversy for the strong anti-religious stance of the title track's video, as well as the album cover which features references to a suicide bomber.

"Holy War" was released in Australia via UNFD and in other parts of the world through Nuclear Blast. Produced and mixed by Will Putney (SUICIDE SILENCE, EXHUMED, THE ACACIA STRAIN),the CD was made available in various formats: digital; limited digipak + bonus track; assorted color vinyl; exclusive mail-order picture disc.

"Holy War" track listing:

01. Absolute Genocide
02. Light Bearer
03. Holy War
04. Coffin Dragger
05. Fur And Claw
06. Deliver Us To Evil
07. Emptiness
08. Violent Reckoning
09. Child Of Sorrow
10. Naked And Cold
11. Vengeance (bonus track; initial CD pressings and vinyl only)

Guitarist Andy Marsh shared the following about the origins of the new album and its title: "Late last year, we entered the studio in secret to create our follow up to 'Hate', free of expectation and public pressure. What we came out with was a reaction to things going on around the world that crawl under our skin, that make us feel sick to be alive. Musically, it is darker, faster and more technical than anything we've done in the past and it hits hard lyrically. We wrote about concerns of ours, real issues, hardships that people are facing around the world today. Of course, it wouldn't be a THY ART record if a lot of those affairs weren't rooted in religion somehow, and what better way to sum up the state of all things than by entitling our album 'Holy War'. This is our war on racism, homophobia, child abuse, animal cruelty and all evil born of religious immunity, indoctrination, and ignorance. It is ultimately a push for secularism and humanism. Without it, we will be left in the hands of mad men."

Rising from the unhallowed wastes of Western Sydney, THY ART IS MURDER successfully cleaved a trail of blood and mayhem since their inception in 2006. With the acclaimed "Infinite Death" EP (2008) and their debut album, "The Adversary" (2010) firmly establishing their name in the global metal music scene, the band has traversed highways and autobahns all around the world, playing 342 tour dates alone in support of their Nuclear Blast Entertainment debut, "Hate" (2012),which landed at No. 35 on the Top 40 ARIA chart.