A Letter of Red is the seventh album from Sabbath Assembly. The album, produced by Randall Dunn who last worked with the band on their debut Restored to One, marks a return to the shortened song form and tight production of their debut, while demonstrating ten years of songwriting prowess and lyrical advancement. The music on A Letter of Red owes more to the galloping hard rock of the 70's than the progressive meanderings of Rites of Passage. Dunn explains: "I tried to find the teenage occult heart of each of the musicians and center them in a place of unity around a familiar and yet futuristic sound. I imagined us all in the cosmos with 70's hi fi headphones on riding a great winged beast airbrushed on the side of a chevy van." Guitarists Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia) and Ron Varod (Kayo Dot, Myrkur) reference Heart and Judas Priest on the album's hard rockers, while acoustic moments bring to mind Current 93 and Jethro Tull. Vocalist Jamie Myers (ex-Hammers of Misfortune and Wolves in the Throne Room) performs with the stripped down clarity of Peter Murphy and Siouxsie in the 80's, bringing a true Gothic tinge to the metal riffs for a totally unique combination.A Letter of Red takes on lofty lyrical themes juxtaposed with this more specific musical direction. The track "Hymn of the Pearl" elucidates the album's title in its recounting of a lost traveler who finds his way home upon receipt of "the letter of red" sent by his familial tribe. The letter reminds the traveler of his true self, and is metaphorical for the gnostic path of individuation. The song is based on a 2nd century Syrian text of the same name discovered with other New Testament apocryphal writings forbidden from the Biblical canon. The Apostle Thomas is thought to have sung this hymn to his fellow prisoners while in Roman captivity, with "the letter of red" offering true release.