Meristem Released Video For “Saviour”

Hungarian sextet Meristem release their new single ‘Saviour’ today, along with a slick music video directed by Sándor Bikali. Blurring the lines between progressive metal, metalcore and djent, ‘Saviour’ speaks of sin, regret, redemption and God. It is the band’s first release since the 2022 EP Necrosis, and only their second release as a non-instrumental band. 

Vocalist Tamás Stefán comments: “The song is kind of a dark imagination, where a loved one, a relative, or even our father is descending as God himself, and we feel so guilty and sinful that it makes us pray for death, or some kind of punishment. I think a lot of people have been to this dark state of mind when we feel really bad about the mistakes we made, and we are full of regret. ‘Saviour’ is about praying for redemption in a really dark way. I want to let people who feel like this know, that they are not alone, we’ve all been there. If someone struggles to make peace with themselves, they should know that there’s always a way out, and we all can learn from the mistakes we make.“

Meristem was originally founded by guitarist Bence Barkóczi as an instrumental solo project in late 2017. A renowned guitarist within the Hungarian music scene, Bence won a number of guitar contests including New Guitarist 2018 and Impress Bobo, an Ibanez guitar contest in 2018. Bence also had a top 10 finish in the Mayones-Neural DSP Solo Contest 2021.

As Bence began recruiting band members in the hope of performing in a more conventional lineup, 2020 saw the release of Meristem‘s debut full-length Dark Phase. The album was mixed by the band’s new bassist Soma Schiszler (AWS, Harmed).

Subsequently joined by an additional guitarist, a drummer and two singers, Meristem decided to leave instrumental music behind as they released the Necrosis EP in 2022. While retaining its quintessential electronic music-infused guitar madness, the band’s new sound is darker, and heavier.