Dim Gray share new video for the uplifting Avalon | The Tide

Norwegian art rock trio Dim Gray have shared a new lyric video for uplifting new single Avalon | The Tide, which you can watch below. The song. is taken from the band's second album, Firmament, which will be released through English Electric Recordings on September 2.

The new single was written by guitarist Håkon Høiberg on piano rather than his main instrument, with singer/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff then adding the lyrics.

"The music felt like it was constructed as a story, so I thought the lyric should depict some sort of journey," explains Høiberg. "Avalon, the mythical island from Arthurian legend, felt like an appropriate metaphor for reaching an impossible goal or destination; like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or, as these particular words mean to me, peace of mind. They are about trauma, wanting to forget, and the futility of fighting against the overwhelming forces and inherent dynamics of the world, hence the reference to King Canute and the tide in the second verse. I couldn’t decide whether the song should be called Avalon or The Tide, but when we later wrote ‘Meridian’, which ends the album and suggests a split globe, the joint title was suddenly justified.”

Dim Gray will be supporting Big Big Tain on their upcoming run of live dates in September, with Holldorff also deputising for BBT keyboard player Carly Bryant, who is unable to join the band for these dates for family reasons but will return as soon as circumstances allow.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to play these shows supporting Big Big Train,” enthuses drummer Tom Ian Klungland. “We supported Marillion at a show in Stockholm in May and were delighted by the wonderfully warm reaction we received from their fans. We’re going to try our best to make plenty of new friends amongst the Big Big Train audience and it’s fantastic that the Aylesbury show coincides with the release date of Firmament. Roll on September!”

Firmament will be available on CD, LP (via Plane Groovy) and all digital services, with the physical formats available to pre-order now via Burning Shed.

Pre-order Firmament.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.