Feast your eyes on the blockbuster video for their star-studded new single and even those outside of the metal scene will know that SAVAGE LANDS are fierce defenders of our natural habitat. But this supergroup aren’t acting when it comes to preserving the world’s ecosystems.
After witnessing how land developers are tearing down Costa Rica’s rain forest, MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren and his old guitarist Sylvain Demercastel decided they weren’t going to sit around and rust in peace. In 2022, they started SAVAGE LANDS, the music industry’s first artist-run environmental non-profit.
100% of the royalties from the organization’s first feature-length album support their ongoing preservation projects in Costa Rica and other countries. Army of the Trees features members of SEPULTURA, HEILUNG, LORD OF THE LOST and other metallic superstars. On the album’s new single “Ruling Queen,” SAVAGE LANDS call on metal’s blue-haired heroine along with one of its strongest axemen to help defend their turf.
“Art and activism converge in a space of meaning, and that is where I choose to stand”, says ARCH ENEMY front woman Alissa White-Gluz. “Metalheads have always been powerful and passionate people in my eyes. I hold deep gratitude for SAVAGE LANDS and their relentless work in safeguarding the fragile beauty of Costa Rica’s ecosystem”.
“It has been my pleasure and honor to be part of this unbelievable project”, OBITUARY guitarist Kenneth Andrews says. “Let’s do our part!”
Army of the Trees comes out February 15, 2025 on Season of Mist.
Scenes from “Ruling Queen” were shot on location in the 100,000 square feet of high-risk Costa Rican rainforest that SAVAGE LANDS has preserved using royalties from their music. But while the video opens on a peaceful mountain vista, the rumble of drum fills from Loco Muerte’s Florian Pons warn that trouble is afoot. Before the guitars can even sink their teeth into the song’s biting riff, a band of armed soldiers come storming through the forest hellbent on turning a profit.
It’s a sight and sound that SAVAGE LANDS‘ co-founders know all too well. “After hearing chainsaws tear through Costa Rica on a daily basis, we knew it was time to act, says Sylvain, “because the buzzing is only getting louder”.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.