https://mangual.es/
‘Atmospheric death metal’. Three simple words to describe one’s music, chosen by JADE main man J. himself yet they don’t seem to quite pay justice to the gigantic scope of their music. Because ever since the release of their debut demo back in 2018 (recorded at Moontower, a studio they’ve remained faithful to, to this day) they’ve proven again and again to be more. Much more.
Historically speaking, the word ‘jade’ referred to a rare but really valuable mineral in ancient times all over the world. From Mesoamerican cultures to Chinese and Southern Asian ones, the greenstone was conferred with deep spiritual symbolism and used to connect the earthly level to the unknown. The history of the countless traditions, legends and cults remain as an endless source of topics in terms of lyrics for the band, with a rich historical narrative also poetized. JADE’s music is described by J. as “a tribute to the timeless obscure metal language, from early death/doom manifestations to later atmospheric black acts, in a really heavy, intense and epic form which transcends ages, as the greenstone cult has endured.”
After the reissue of Smoking Mirror – MMXVIII in 2019, M. joined on drums and the band released three years later The Pacification Of Death, an epic of even grander and more ambitious set of six songs. Adding C. on second guitar to the lineup, the band started gigging in May 2023 with shows not only in their native Spain but also in Germany, France, Portugal and in the UK. In early 2024, JADE brought in B. as M. had to stepped down in order to focus in his many others bands, including SANCTUARIUM with whom did a split LP with in September 2024.
Sharpening the band’s own language as ever before, the sophomore album Mysteries Of A Flowery Dream carries an ominous wave of darkness, redefining heaviness with new levels of musical production and arrangements, compared by J. to “a journey into the dialogue between conscious and subconscious dreaming states and the mysteries around.”
The album’s lyrics are in direct line of those themes, echoing the celestial world and how it can help us overcoming ominous times (“The Stars’ Shelter”), how dreams can be interpreted as omens (“Light’s Blood”) and how they allow us to travel the Mayan cosmovision and its various worlds for guidance, healing and messages (“Shores Of Otherness”), among others. Famed artist Adam Burke (HOODED MENACE, UNTO OTHERS, SOLSTAFIR etc.) illustration is another extension, presenting different elements of the ancient Mesoamerican cosmovision, mainly the powerful moon goddess Ixchel, a both creative and destructive entity portrayed here as the Spider, threading human fate like an umbilical cord and determined to give life to beings and nature on side but on the other, punish and sent out destruction if needed.