Last summer, he was in Malta with Paradise Lost, headlining the first edition of the Mediterranean Metal Gathering. With the band currently occupied with the final preparations for the release of the Draconian Times MMXI live DVD in November, guitarist Greg Mackintosh returns with a new project that is perhaps better described as something of a metal supergroup.

Vallenfyre is Mackintosh’s brainchild, a new British Death Metal outfit that has already signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records and released its debut single Desecration.

It comes as no surprise really that the band was snapped so quickly by the record label, given that the rest of its line-up features none other than guitarist Hamish Glencross of My Dying Bride, drummer Adrian Erlandsson of At The Gates andParadise Lost, bassist Scoot from Doom and Extinction of Mankind and Mully on rhythm guitars.

While the inspiration behindVallenfyre’s sound apparently dates back to Mackintosh’s youth, when he was first introduced to extreme music by his older brother, the idea to form Vallenfyre was prompted by the death of the guitarist’s father John, who passed away last December.

“I experienced all the stages of grief but it started to become very self-destructive so I decided to channel it into creating something to pay respect to the man who drove us to our very first gigs,” the guitarist was quoted as saying in a post on the official Paradise Lost website. “He was the only Dad I knew who listened to Bolt Thrower’s Peel Sessions on the radio. He gave me my first chord book.”

To do this, Mackintosh decided to go right back to his musical roots. “It all started very angst-ridden and wasn’t originally meant for anyone else to hear, but after recording some material I realised I was actually enjoying it but I wanted friends involved so it could actually become real fun.”

The band’s debut album is being released on October 31 in Europe.

www.vallenfyre.com