It’s been nearly five full years since Byzantine released any new music; the band broke up just days following the release of their last album, Oblivion Beckons, which went on to receive massive posthumous critical acclaim. Despite the seemingly insurmountable — new jobs, families, and hundreds of miles between band members — these West Virginians reunited, launched a successful Kickstarter to record a new album, and then did just that. Today we are extremely proud to exclusively premiere “Signal Path,” the first track to be released from Byzantine’s forthcoming self-titled album. It’s got everything you want from Byzantine: groove, unforgettable riffs, soaring melodies, and plenty of twists and turns. Here’s what guitarist/vocalist Chris “OJ” Ojeda has to say about getting The Byz up and running once again:

To have a 4th Byzantine album recorded is a feat that none of us band members thought we could pull off. With families, new careers and living apart from each other and a 5 year hiatus, we thought getting together and writing a new album would be impossible, but it came along famously. We truly are in our element tucked in the hills of WV grinding out new tunes for the few select fans we have. It’s been an honor to give you guys 9 new songs to dig on!

The cover artwork posted above was designed by David Friedmann, the winner of the contest we launched here on MetalSucks earlier this year. It looks fantabulous; great job, David!

Byzantine comes out on February 26th via Gravedancer Records. Merch is currently available at the official Byzantine online store. And now, finally, “Signal Path:”