Local artist The Alkyli Project announces debut album
Starkville based creative Wil Bane will release “The Secret Gods” on November 12, 2021.
The album is the debut full-length record under The Alkyli Project moniker, following up his “Blackened” short film and “Of Blood and Bone” EP.
The album includes tracks like “Hail,” “If You Should Wake,” title track “The Secret Gods,” and “The Sun, the Dark.”
Bane recorded, mixed, and mastered much of the album in his apartment in Starkville.
Speaking of the content of the album, Bane said, “I never thought I’d end up doing a concept album but here we are. I like concept albums - Meshuggah and Sepultura come to mind - but this one ended up, for the most part, having a religious or supernatural theme with some irreligious themes thrown in there.”
“It varies from purely fictional storytelling based on something religious or supernatural to real deal thoughts I have on corruption in religion and religion itself.”
Bane says he never wishes to harm believers who hold their views dearly. “It’s a sensitive, touchy topic, I know. It’s not Ms. Betty down the road’s fault some preachers get on TV in the middle of the night and scam people out of millions of dollars. It’s not granddad’s fault somebody like Kenneth Copeland makes millions off his congregation and owns a mansion and a yacht while holding his arms up high and begging his god to help the poor.”
Speaking on why he would decide to put his thoughts to song, “Why shouldn’t I? When this conversation is out there, it bears fruit. Some of that fruit is rotten but when two people come together and discuss things in a positive way, even if they hold strong views, or when someone puts out something that might tell other people around them they’re not alone in how they feel, that’s good.”
The tracklist includes: 1: Release the Kraken 2: The Secret Gods
3: Bless the Sinner
4: Hail
5: Fireborne I: Pure Hatred 6: If You Should Wake 7: Lilith
8: Imaginary Friends
9: The Sun, The Dark
10: All Things Holy
Bane is the former vocalist and guitarist of another Mississippi-based band, Children Of Aries. The album includes a few songs written while he was in that band, including one of the leading singles, “If You Should
Wake,” and “Fireborne I: Pure Hatred.”
“My brother and the drummer of that project, Alan White, gave me the blessing to use those songs. He and my best friends Vernon and Zeke continue to be incredible sounding boards for new material.”
When speaking on what comes next, “That’ll be announced later. The next calendar year will be a busy one for myself and the folks who help me with all this. Maybe another concept album? We’ll see.”
“The Secret Gods” will see a digital release with the possibility of physical copies available locally in Starkville in the near future.
The Alkyli Project can be supported on Patreon at patreon.com/alkyliproject.