Above is a track from the new Vallenfyre album, a Fragile King. These guys are a UK death metal band with some serious doom metal tendencies. Their music is slow and lurching, but stays engaging and active with lots of vocals, changes, and solos.

Not only that, but the vocals–despite being delivered in a usual growled style–are pretty understandable. And the reason for that is storytelling is really important to Vallenfyre–especially on the track above, “Seeds.”

It’s tough to really hold back my emotions now that I know what this song is about. I usually, don’t read into interviews before I listen to albums, but I decided to indulge right here since this band and its members are both new to me. Well, it turns out this song is a dark and depressing tribute to the father of band member Greg Mackintosh. He died battling cancer, and “Seeds” refers to how the disease was spreading through this man’s lungs.

Though the grim details of cancer are left out of the song above, it still makes lyrical symbols like “fragile kings” even more powerful.

Check the cover art for this album below and look for it now on Century Media: