Photo by Greg Travasos
Southern Louisiana is perhaps best known in the metal community for birthing notorious sludge bands such as Eyehategod, Crowbar, and Acid Bath. However, if you dive deeper into Louisiana’s metal lineage and take a trip further into Cajun country, you’ll find a diverse array of experimental metal dating back nearly 40 years.
RADIANT KNIFE spawned from that very lineage as a sci-fi-influenced experimental metal duo, taking cues from the mid-‘90s sonic explosion from Relapse, Hydra Head, and Amphetamine Reptile Records that changed underground metal forever. Members Stephen Sheppert (guitars, synth, vocals) and Greg Travasos (drums) are now gearing up for the 2026 release of their sixth record, Sankalpa, set for independent release on November 13th.
Sankalpa serves as the duo’s follow-up to 2023’s Pressure release which The Sleeping Shaman crowned, “a genuinely diverse and engaging piece of work,” Mystification Zine named, “a face-clawing riff ‘n’ rhythm record,” and Metal Injection championed for being, “synthy, doomy, and experimental.”
Though not a complete departure from the gritty, off-timed approach of Pressure, Sankalpa — defined as a heartfelt, focused intention or solemn vow — takes a more refined, groove laden approach with a focus on melody, layering and texture. Replete with dueling guitar overlays, atmospheric synth textures, floating vocals, and dense rhythm guitars, Sankalpa sits somewhere in the realm of releases from the likes of Hum, Elder, and Russian Circles, while still harkening to key influences such as Dazzling Killmen, King Crimson, and ‘90s-era experimental metal.
The band comments, “It’s hard to believe, but Sankalpa is our sixth release in over a decade of making music together. Our albums tend to ebb and flow between heavy and melodic atmospheres, and Sankalpa is no different though it projects a more melancholic backdrop compared to the pent-up tension in our 2023 release, Pressure. This record is densely layered, traversing diverse sonic territories from grim acoustic ballads to brooding math metal riffs. It’s a holistic record, stringing together all our musical tangents into a cohesive otherworldly vibe.”
In advance of the record’s release, today the band unveils the first single and title track, “Sankalpa,” now streaming at Decibel Magazine.
“This title track is the instrumental centerpiece and best personifies the overall mood of this record,” the band offers. “It harkens to our old math metal influences (Keelhaul, Dazzling Killmen),yet gradually devolves into a pummeling riff mantra with Floydian guitar overlays hovering above.”
Adds Decibel, “…for those not familiar with Sanskrit – that’s 99.9% of you, we’re guessing –sankalpa is ‘a solemn vow, a heart-led intention, or a deep inner resolve,’ according to the soon-to-be-humanity-ending AI supercomputer we consulted. It also happens to the be the track we’re premiering here. It’s an instrumental, so you can sort of ponder your own sankalpa while immersed in the hypnotic eight-plus minutes of the mathy/proggy piece…”
Stream “Sankalpa” at Decibel HERE.
Sankalpa features artwork by Terry Grow and was recorded, mixed, mastered by Stephen Sheppert at Starless Sound.
The record will be released digitally across all streaming platforms. Find preorders at the RADIANT KNIFE Bandcamp page HERE.
Sankalpa Track Listing:
- Amber Waves
- Crystal Oscillation
- Disciple Of The Astral Plane
- Down On The River Bank
- Sankalpa
- Consciousness As The Foundation Of Reality
- Bewailer
- Through The Heliopause
- Bones
- On The Mend
RADIANT KNIFE:
Stephen Sheppert – guitars, synth, vocals
Greg Travasos – drums
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The post RADIANT KNIFE: Louisiana Experimental Sludge Metal Duo To Release Sixth Full-Length, Sankalpa, On November 13th; New Track Now Playing At Decibel Magazine first appeared on Earsplit Compound.