Beardfish have premiered Hold On, the first track from their eighth album, via Prog.

They’ll launch +4626-COMFORTZONE on January 12 via InsideOut and follow it up with a European tour in support of the Neal Morse Band. The schedule includes a stop at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on March 7.

The Swedish outfit say of Hold On: “It was one of the first songs that came along and it sort of set the mood for the rest of the album, with the rhythm and the intertwined guitar riffs and melodies.

“The lyrics deal with trying to hang on to something that’s slipping out of grasp, and not being in connection with your inner self to the point that you don’t recognise yourself in the mirror. It felt great right from the start – and it keeps getting better every time we play it live.”

Frontman Rikard Sjoblom last month described the follow-up to 2012’s The Void as an investigation of the “invisible protective suit of negative thinking that’s been with you since birth.” He added: “I’m so sick and tired of it – I want to address it, and maybe in that way start to work my way out of it.”

Tracklist