Surface Detail turn an abandoned lantern into their latest metal narrative

An everyday object provides the unusual narrator for Surface Detail’s new single “This Lantern”.

Rather than writing from a human perspective, the Scottish progressive-metal group imagine the experience of a lantern whose purpose is to provide guidance and warmth before eventually being thrown aside.

That concept feeds into a track built around shifting tension, unusual time signatures and increasingly discordant guitar work. The band balance technically precise playing with heavier sections designed around direct rhythmic impact.

Guest vocals are provided by Robbie Horn, frontman of High Voltage, adding another character to the song’s changing arrangement.

“This Lantern” is also tied to the developing narrative surrounding Surface Detail’s forthcoming autumn album. Instead of explaining the story outright, the group have begun releasing teaser material featuring dystopian imagery and unexplained references to a “winter challenge”.

The new record will mark another stage in the band’s development following the addition of keyboardist and synth player Elaine Masson to the lineup.