After a decade with Gloryhammer, multi-instrumentalist Michael Barber has left the band to focus on Wizardthrone, and the project is back with "Death Cycles," its first new track since 2021's Hypercube Necrodimensions.

The lineup is Barber on vocals and guitar, Matthew Bell (Forlorn Citadel) on guitar, Keiran Allen (Akercocke) on bass, Christopher Bowes (Alestorm) on keyboards and Isak Olsson (Twilight Force) on drums. "Death Cycles" was mixed by Dave Otero (Archspire, Shadow of Intent) with artwork by Dan Goldsworthy, who also designed the debut album.

Still "extreme wizard metal," the track pushes into melodic death, black and power metal territory with nods to Children of Bodom, Dissection and Wintersun, trading earlier mathematical chaos for something heavier and more direct. Lyrically it imagines an alien entity collapsing every version of existence into a single point, written in response to Barber's burnout and grief of recent years.

"Ever since Hypercube Necrodimensions came out in 2021, I couldn't stop thinking about writing more music and getting WIZARDTHRONE on stage... More new music is in the works right now, and we're finally ready to play live, starting in my hometown of London this November, at the very venue where it all began for me," says Barber.

Live dates: debut headline show Nov 21 at The Underworld, London; UK/Ireland tour with Alestorm and Battle Beast Jan 14-30, 2027 (Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich, Dundee, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Nottingham, Oxford, London); festival: Masters of Rock, Vizovice, Czech Republic, July 8.