IV

New Zealand's legendary Stoner Metal band Beastwars are returning to the world with a new lease on life, literally. Vocalist Matt Hyde underwent over 6 months of treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2016, he is now in remission. Their new album "IV" was shaped by Hyde's recent experiences.

Matt Hyde said that through his diagnosis and subsequent treatment, he was given an opportunity to look into the abyss beyond life as we know it. "Throughout the treatment - I was numb - and it's interesting to have the ability to confront that, to confront the void, to confront the idea of mortality. I didn't make peace with it either."

That experience - the loneliness and isolation of the long treatment time - gave Hyde plenty to consider. Life, friendships and relationships in his 40's, his then-10-year-old daughter and his band and experiences. What resulted was a record that leaves nothing unsaid. A howling, raw and powerful voice. Hyde says, "I was lucky that I had music to express what had happened to me - a lot of people don't have that. I was very lucky that we could make a record. I took the time to process it and turned it into something else."

Beastwars formed in Wellington in 2006. Their 2011 self-titled debut was nominated for Best New Zealand Rock Album at the New Zealand Music Awards, as were their second and third albums 2014's Blood Becomes Fire and 2016's The Death Of All Things. Beastwars and Blood Becomes Fire were also nominated for the Taite Music Prize.