
Progressive metal / electronic band Playgrounded release new single 'Counting Embers'!
Mar 31, 2026
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4
min read

Multinational progressive metal / electronic band Playgrounded return with their new single 'Counting Embers', their first new music in four years.
'Counting Embers' is a statement track, announcing itself explosively. Pulsing synth sequences, distorted digital tones, and modular arpeggiations lend a futuristic edge that contrasts the organic weight of live instrumentation: thick bass tones, angular guitar chords, and drums that can move from restrained pulse to relentless propulsion. Vocals float in highly charged introspection, serving understated, but haunting melodies. Through gradual transformation, the landscape unfolds in a meticulously constructed yet emotionally resonant narrative of tension and grief.
The band comment: “Today we share new music with you for the first time in a while. A song about the fires of this world and how painfully familiar they have become. Always aware that ashes can bloom.”
Playgrounded are a rock band based in the Netherlands and Greece. Alternative metal and contemporary electronic elements form a genre-defying sound, comparable to artists as diverse as Deftones, Massive Attack, Karnivool, and The Ocean.
A band together for over a decade, Playgrounded have in their time supported Riverside, Anathema, and Nine Inch Nails. Their 2022 record The death of Death (Pelagic Records) was globally lauded, with praise from Prog, Eclipsed, Metal Injection, Metal Hammer Germany and more.
Following its release the band presented the album to packed venues in their home countries and embarked on a 36 date UK/EU tour with The Ocean and LLNN, and then festival performances at ArcTanGent, Euroblast, RADAR, and more.
'Counting Embers' is the first glimpse of Playgrounded's new album, due later this year - where the band promise to push the boundaries of their truly innovative approach to heavy music even further.

Stream here: https://orcd.co/playgrounded
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Photo by © Ash Winter-Sim


