Twelve Foot Ninja have announced an immersive multimedia project incorporating the band’s forthcoming album, Vengeance (Oct. 15, Volkanik Music) with a high fantasy novel (“The Wyvern and The Wolf” by Nicholas Snelling), and a graphic novel (“Vengeance,” available now via twelvefootninja.com).
The news arrives with a video for the recently released single, “Start The Fire”.
In the words of the band’s guitarist/producer Stevic Mackay: “’Start The Fire’ drew lyrical inspiration from Todd Phillips and Scott Silver’s portrayal of the Joker. When you start treating people according to broad prejudice, they’re left with little reason not to become what they’re supposedly guilty of already being. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The video concept revolves around the threat of total annihilation. The strung-up band is being injected with a copper-based enzyme that, when mixed with human blood, can be extracted to power up current collector fuel cells (purposed for reanimating Primordian bio-technology). The band’s performance is a shared, mutual delusion. It’s all pretty straight-forward, really.”
The maniacal Australian rock-fusioneers snuck back into the world’s eyes and ears last month with the stealthy drop of their single “Long Way Home,” the first taste of new music from the band since their 2016 album, Outlier. That single came with a 2D platformer videogame. Fans who collected all 12 brick phones in the game discovered they could unlock the band’s music video for “Long Way Home.”
True to form, Twelve Foot Ninja aim to pull off something that no other musical act in history ever has before. In addition to the album Vengeance, the band is releasing a literary high fantasy novel called “The Wyvern and The Wolf” written by Nicholas Snelling – both novel and album are available for pre-order now and scheduled for release on Oct. 15, with the first 12 chapters sent to you when you pre-order.
Set in a grim and savage world, “The Wyvern and The Wolf” tells the tale of an orphaned samurai boy named Kiyoshi who is adopted by the ruthless leader of a clan of ninja. Much more than a mere origin story, however, the novel is a tour de force in fantasy fiction and world-building, and represents a unique partnership with Snelling. Published by The Venn Gents, the novel can be pre-ordered now from www.twelvefootninja.com. The original story of the Twelve Foot Ninja was conceived by MacKay and his partner Fiona Permezel. It was that concept which first inspired “The Wyvern and The Wolf.”
Also available now from the band’s website is the graphic novel “Vengeance,” written by Mackay with artwork by George Evangelista. The graphic novel sees the band’s namesake, the Twelve Foot Ninja, journey through alternate dimensions to take on an evil alien entity.
As ambitious and unlikely as this ‘world-first’ multimedia release might seem, Twelve Foot Ninja deem it a vital innovation. In the age of streaming, music has become increasingly under-valued and the plight of the professional musician has become less sustainable. And yet, at the very beginning of the band’s journey, Twelve Foot Ninja planned to expand their offering with a suite of deeply immersive and premium content. Finally, we will start to experience the fruits of that early vision – perhaps a fortuitous move in this uncertain world of snap lockdowns, but certainly a smart way of broadening the band’s already fervent fanbase.
Mackay explains Project Vengeance: “This is an exorcism of content that’s spent a decade in gestation. ‘Catharsis’ is close to what it feels like to finally share Kiyoshi’s story; and I guess respond to all questions pertaining to our name; All this time, so many have thought ‘Twelve Foot Ninja’ was tongue-in-cheek, when in actuality, the story’s genesis occurred a year before the formation of the band. I really hope our fans enjoy the vastness of what we’ve created, and we’re able to continue to surprise people with new methods of storytelling.”
The sheer amount of content might be a ‘world-first’ for a band, but the fact is, breaking records isn’t exactly new for Twelve Foot Ninja. They once held—and may still hold—the world record for most successful crowdfunding campaign of a music video. And since 2014, they’ve amassed a mantlepiece full of awards – from being named ‘Best New Talent’ (Revolver’s Golden God Awards), ‘Best Artist/Song Discovery’ (SiriusXM Liquid Metal Charts), ‘Best Metal Music Video’ (Independent Music Awards) and a highly coveted ARIA nomination for ‘Best Hard Rock Album’. Little wonder, then, that they’ve also clocked up over 42 million spins on Spotify and 22 million plays on YouTube.
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