Today, doom-death titans Mourners Lament stream the entirety of their band’s highly anticipated second album, A Grey Farewell. Set for international release on August 2nd via Personal Records, hear Mourners Lament‘s A Grey Farewell in its entirety here:
Formed in 2004, Mourners Lament are a doom-death metal band hailing from Viña del Mar, Chile. During their first years, they released a demo in 2004 and then an EP, Unbroken Solemnity, in 2008. Those two recordings launched the quintet onto numerous gigs within the Chilean doom scene, some of them with classic bands like Poema Arcanus and Mar de Grises.
Lineup changes followed during the next handful of years, as Mourners Lament underwent a minor period of silence while preparing what would be their debut album. Titled We All Be Given, the band’s first full-length would first be released in 2016 by esteemed national label Canometal Records, and then later the next year internationally through Hammerheart Records. Between the two editions, Mourners Lament established themselves as a considerable new(er) name in the wider doom-death scene.
After the debut album’s initial release, Mourners Lament continued playing live shows in their native Chile, climbing to a higher position in the national doom scene. Later on, two new members took over drums and vocal duties, and a new lineup was established in 2019, which continues to this day. This new-look Mourners Lament brought fresh sounds and spirit to the band, resulting in the new EP Grieving at a Distance in 2022 and their first adventure in European territory that same year.
After the Euro tour, which included an appearance at the renowned Dutch Doom Days festival, the band started the process of a new album. At last here, A Grey Farewell easily eclipses its not-inconsiderable full-length predecessor. Here, Mourners Lament erect a towering monument to misery: six songs in nearly 65 minutes, the album is an emotional and DARK journey across a majestic & melancholic landscape. Undoubtedly, it’s pure DOOM-DEATH by definition – riffs crush and then reverberate, rhythms lumber before nearly disappearing into darkness, guttural vocals either meld with both or play counterpart, and icy, almost-sensual synths flow with subtlety and a quiet power – but Mourners Lament prove to be masterful songwriters, patiently building arcs that unfold dark drama and bittersweet emotion, and then seamlessly threading the whole experience together as one unified work that’s equally spacious and suffocating. That there’s a bit more polish here only makes A Grey Farewell that much better, particularly given the band’s penchant for dynamic quietude.
The raw-yet-rich emotion of the earliest days of the Peaceville Three – Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema, altogether THE eternal template for doom-death metal – can still be a fertile field for inspiration. It would not be hyperbole to suggest that A Grey Farewell is perhaps one of the best modern examples of pure doom-death that imparts its own personality. Some 20 years after their formation, Mourners Lament have truly arrived!
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Mourners Lament’s A Grey Farewell
1. Towards Abandonment [10:58] 2. Changes [13:27] 3. Ocaso [7:26] 4. The Clear Distance [12:29] 5. In A White Room [9:18] 6. Mass Eulogy [10:22]
Today, German black metal institution Agrypnie reveal the new video “Blut.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated seventh album, Erg, set for international release on September 13th via AOP Records. Featuring PG of labelmates Groza, see & hear Agrypnie‘s “Blut” video in its entirety here:
Founded in 2004 by songwriter Torsten H., who is also active in the bands Nocte Obducta, Theotoxin, and Suel as well as other musical projects, Agrypnie have developed into a significant force in the black metal scene over the years. What began as a solo project was expanded into a full band to enable live performances in 2007, a year after the release of the debut album F51.4.
With nine releases, including six albums, Agrypnie have created an extensive discography that reflects the variety and depth of their musical universe. Over time, Agrypnie have completed numerous tours and festival as well as club performances, captivating their audience with their intense stage presence and powerful performances. And as of 2024, with the planned release of their seventh album, Erg, drum recordings for the eighth album are already completed.
The album Metamorphosis, released in 2021, was Agrypnie‘s first under the renowned label AOP Records and reached #29 on the official German album charts. Additionally, it was named one of the top five black metal releases of 2021 by the German Metal Hammer. These recent successes, along with past achievements, highlight the band’s continuous development.
And that development arguably reaches its apex with Erg. In one sense, Erg is Agrypnie‘s most aggressive album to date; every instrument attacks from every angle, almost overwhelmingly so if not for the clear & cutting recording and the band’s enviously sharp execution. In another sense, Erg displays considerable daring and depth; while “black metal” in foundation, the album’s songwriting crests and crashes with kaleidoscopic wonder and cathartic urgency alike. That Agrypnie manage to make these eight compositions (“Blut” is a two-part suite) a forever-unfolding adventure that reveals ever-deeper truths the more one listens to it is a testament to their power and prowess as both songwriters and musicians. Rich sonically and in emotion, majestic even when plumbing the depths of melancholy, Erg is a tour de force of wide-screen BLACK METAL regardless of “progressive” or “post-” appellations.
Currently, along with Torsten, drummer Flo – songwriter for labelmates Theotoxin, drummer for Schirenc Plays Pungent Stench, and live drummer for bands such as Benighted and Schammasch – is the only permanent studio musician. The live musicians Lykanthrop (Batushka, guitar), Chris (Perchta, guitar), and Andi (ex-Paul Di’Anno Band, bass) complete Agrypnie.
Also hear the previously revealed “Aus rauchlosem Feuer” featuring Phil Jonas of Secrets of the Moon HERE, also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of syn2 / Marco Klein, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Agrypnie’s Erg 1. Aus rauchlosem Feuer 2. Meer ohne Wasser 3. Sturm 4. Blut 5. Entität 6. Stunde des Wolfes 7. Geister 8. Unter Sandessen und verscharrt
Today, Osmose Productions announces September 27th as the international release date Diablation‘s third and final album, Irrévérence, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
After experiencing a journey into the depths of despair, Diablation imagine the future of a newly elected people saved from the emerging apocalypse. They depict this future in great detail in their new transcendent opus, consisting of seven tracks mixed and mastered by Seb BST.
The tracks evoke violence and epic emotions, inspiring courage, honor, and adoration towards the Architect of this world. The metallic anthems crafted by VOA are supported by incantations chanted tirelessly, backed by a martial, heady rhythm driven at a frantic pace by Rémi Serafino (drums) and Max (bass).
The final work of the group features the last words of their martyr singer Arkames, who is now doomed to silence. The work symbolizes irreverence, counter-revolution against modernism and liberalism, and the desire for a restoration of His Reign. The closing words of the work are “Oh God, I rely on you, that we can one day become King again.” May this sentiment guide us until our last breath.
First track premiere to be revealed on September 3rd. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Diablation’s Irrévérence 1. 144000 [1:23] 2. Eternel [6:38] 3. Purification [8:46] 4. Par La Haine [5:24] 5. Chrysanthèmes Au Nouveau Monde [7:43] 6. Ad Universum [5:49] 7. Le Dernier Roi [6:26]
Today, Swiss black metallers ColdCell stream the entirety of their highly anticipated fifth album, Age of Unreason. Set for international release today via AOP Records, hear ColdCell‘s Age of Unreason in its entirety here:
ColdCell were founded in 2012 in Basel, Switzerland and released their first album, Generation Abomination, during the following year. ColdCell are rooted in the Swiss underground black metal scene and have always been eager to deliver dark and atmospheric live shows. And although drummer aW concurrently plays in Swiss icons Schammasch, ColdCell put forward their own unique approach that melds both old and new schools of black metal, making for a highly personal expression both timeless and modern.
The impressions of the dark, eerie, and extreme are expressed within ColdCell‘s successive albums like Lowlife (2015), Those (2017), and The Greater Evil (2021). With their latest album, Age of Unreason,ColdCell now align with AOP Records and furthermore venture deeper into social abysses and explore the (un)reason of being. Their sound remains as challenging and unsettling as ever here, with equal emphasis placed on abyssal heft and ethereal atmosphere, slipstreaming violence and ominous trudge. While so many extreme metal albums trail off in a tide of unwavering familiarity, Age of Unreason reaches a crescendo at about the halfway point with “Meaningless,” which features bewitching guest vocals by Swiss chanteuse Ines Brodbeck (aka INEZONA), and continues to spiral into cathartic delirium with the closing combo of “Sink Our Souls” and “Discord.” During these three tracks in particular, the emotional core of ColdCell is on dazzlingly display, darkly exploring those corridors of the soul few dare to tread. In 47 minutes, Age of Unreason rips asunder and rearranges the template of orthodox black metal.
Cover artwork, courtesy of Gian Andrea Signorell, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for ColdCell’s Age of Unreason 1. Hope and Failure [7:32] 2. Dead to the World [8:04] 3. Left [5:56] 4. Solidarity or Solitude [5:46] 5. Meaningless feat. INEZONA [6:11] 6. Sink Our Souls [8:28] 7. Discord [4:52]
Today, Chilean thrash cult Mayhemic stream the entirety of highly anticipated debut album, Toba. Set for international release today via Sepulchral Voice Records, hear Mayhemic‘s Toba in its entirety here:
Over 70,000 years ago, an event of horrific proportions brought earth’s life to the edge of existing. Known as the Toba eruption, a monstruous super-volcano spat forth brimstone and fire and put the world under the fangs of a massive volcanic winter. Here and now, writing the year 2024, we finally get the audiomantic equivalence to this catastrophe absolute.
As if the most glorious days of thrash metal never had ceased to exist, Chilean aggressors Mayhemic come up with a debut combining utmost power and speed, intertwined with incredible musicianship and songwriting of sheer brilliance.
The young quartet has pushed it hard since the beginning with numerous live shows – sharing stages with names like Marduk and Krisiun, among others – countless rehearsals, and an evolution which can be only labeled as stunning. From the well-produced and -structured No-Life demo up until the total speed mayhem and maniacal fury of the Mortuary Feast of Skeletons EP and the “Volcanic Blast” single, the time is now for Mayhemic‘s first full-length madness.
Comparisons do mostly suck, but for those unfamiliar with their earlier output, imagine the ravage of old Sodom, the speed kill of Merciless and old Sepultura, all combined with Kreator’s best moments of high-class thrash as on Pleasure to Kill till Extreme Aggression. Big words without doubt, but listen to Toba and the rest is self-explanatory.
If you need your dirty white high-tops, skinny jeans, and leather jackets as sharp as in the ’80s, this is the perfect soundtrack to bang your heads to Hell.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Mayhemic’s Toba 1. Kollarbone Crushed Neanderthal 2. Extinction & Mystery 3. Valley Of The Thundra 4. Triumph Portrait 5. Eschatological Symphony 6. Hazardous Prowler 7. Olduvai’s Lullaby 8. Toba
On September 17th internationally, Antiq is proud to present a brand-new EP from Hyver, Fonds de Terroir.
Hyver comes back this autumn with a new EP called Fonds de Terroir. After Sorcier Hibou (dungeon synth – 2023) and Noirceur Mystique d’Autrefois (sympho / dungeoned black metal – early 2024), Fonds de Terroir brings us to the deep countryside of France. Melodious synth meets energic riffs, heavily supported by a creative bass-guitar played by KK (Passéisme) and groovy drums by Summun Algor (Agnus Dei). Hyver‘s rough voice is joined by strong choirs and two guests: Sans Visage (Prieuré) and M (Krasseville). With cover artwork by Joanna Maeyens (Paysage d’Hiver, Ruynn), Fond de Terroir tells us about journeys through France between muddy fields, old stone villages, ancient abbeys, and haunted swamps, in a musical spirit close to Horn, Satanic Warmaster, early Finntroll, and Hanternoz. The focus here is the link between black metal spirit and road-trip adventures – being “en route” to the unknown.
Antiq is a label dedicated to the fully coherent concept of making music through sound, image, video, and attitude. They have been putting their entire existence into it since 2009. Over the years, Antiq have been identified as producers of not only perfectly coherent lyrics and themes through music, but also conceptual art and, of course, the manufacturing of beautiful objects. The label tries as much as it can to work with French creators, and if possible, with the smallest and most serious structures.
First track to be revealed on August 13th. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hyver’s Fonds de Terroir 1. Lanterne des Morts [4:11] 2. La Vieille près du Lavoir [6:39] 3. Frère Jean-Théophane [4:18] 4. Terroir Terreur [4:47]
On July 26th, Hells Headbangers will release Goat Semen‘s highly anticipated new EP, Fuck Christ, on CD, 12″ vinyl, and cassette tape formats. And today, they stream their EP in its entirety. Hear Goat Semen‘s Fuck Christ in its entirety here:
At ground zero of the rebirth and resurgence of South American black/death at the dawn of the new millennium, Goat Semen delivered one of the most classic demos ever with their self-titled 2002 demo, which has seen countless re-editions in the past two decades. As their legendry grew to enviable levels, so, too, did the anticipation for these Peruvian devils’ debut album. But alas, time passed and the fervor ‘n’ anticipation for that first full-length reached critical mass in the metal underground, taking on almost mythical status (not unlike Sadistic Intent’s long-promised debut LP). Finally, it saw the unlight of day in 2015 as Ego Svm Satana: the ultimate Goat Semen statement, in the making for literally a decade, the album became something of a veritable travelogue across the history of South American metal barbarity the prior three decades. The very end, and also the beginning, Ego Svm Satana was suitably CLASSIC, as expected.
But, Goat Semen are never one for half measures, and much like that full-length took at least a decade before it emerged from hellfire fully formed, they’ve only released live albums and a couple splits since then – nothing as substantial as a fully-new recording. Now, nearly a decade after that momentous debut album, Goat Semen return with a comparatively quick-hitting EP in Fuck Christ. Much like its unapologetic & unadorned title, the Peruvian devils waste no time, kicking in immediately with a swirlingly sulfurous maelstrom of classic Goat Semen proportions. For a record that comprises five stout songs in 19 electric minutes, Fuck Christ feels simultaneously longer and quicker than that runtime suggests, so respectively satisfying and urgent is that hammering barbarity. Naturally, it wouldn’t be Goat Semen if everything wasn’t attacking from every angle all at once, the feeling of imminent implosion lurking around every dark ‘n’ diseased corner; compared to Ego Svm Satana, Fuck Christ exacerbates that mania to an almost overwhelming degree even when the intensity dips down to a doomed trudge. But perhaps the most unique element on this new record is how relatively clean and clear its recording is, with each and every instrument sounding sharp and powerful – nothing “muddy” about Goat Semen fucking Christ here – which in turn makes the band’s inherent grit & grime sound stranger and more depraved. Put another way, there’s nothing to hide behind here; there’s simply no escape from Fuck Christ.
For those who still hail the old gods of equally early Sarcofago, Krisiun, Hadez, Sextrash, and Mystifier, no matter when their records arrive, you can always count on Goat Semen to Fuck Christ!
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Goat Semen’s Fuck Christ 1. Midnight Worship 2. Los Ojos de Judas 3. Fuck Christ 4. Heed the Call 5. Prophets of Hell
On September 6th internationally, Antiq is proud to present Tour d’Ivoire‘s highly anticipated debut album, self-titled Tour d’Ivoire.
Tour d’Ivoire is an atmospheric black metal project created by Hyver (Véhémence, Grylle, Hanternoz) and La Griesche (Grylle, Cercle du Chêne) in early 2023. The atmosphere of this first eponymous album is thick and mysterious as a twilight fog: extreme vocals emerging from hypnotical riffs, synthesizer melody, and spectral choirs. The French lyrics treat, with a fatalistic view, the contemplation of landscapes and architectures out of mystical dreams, as depicted by Sperber Illustrationen for the album’s cover art.
Antiq is a label dedicated to the fully coherent concept of making music through sound, image, video, and attitude. They have been putting their entire existence into it since 2009. Over the years, Antiq have been identified as producers of not only perfectly coherent lyrics and themes through music, but also conceptual art and, of course, the manufacturing of beautiful objects. The label tries as much as it can to work with French creators, and if possible, with the smallest and most serious structures.
In the meantime, hear an excerpt of the near-nine-minute opening track “La Tour” here:
Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Tour d’Ivoire’s Tour d’Ivoire 1. La Tour [8:34] 2. Brouillard [9:09] 3. Forteresse de Marbre [7:54] 4. Givre [7:44]
“Perhaps the best thing to come out of Australia since the Bloomin’ Onion” – Metal Injection
On their new album, Black Lava summon another perfect storm. The Savage Winds to Wisdom swirls together eerie blackened countermelodies and hexing prog with a heavy load of old-school headbanging. The riffs on “Dark Legacy” loom large, casting a fiery shadow over the kingdom of metal that warns of the band’s growing legend.
“We sharpened our tools with this album”, Black Lava says. “We went a little more brutal and that sets the tone for where we’ll head in the future”.
Watch the guitar playthrough for “Dark Legacy”.
The Savage Winds to Wisdom is out now on Season of Mist.
Black Lava erupted out of Australia’s metal scene during the first trying year of the pandemic. But the band came together with all the ease of a natural stream. All four members have crossed paths around the various corners of the Melbourne underground. Guitarist Ben Boyle also shreds alongside bassist Nick Rackham in Hadal Maw and A Million Dead Birds Laughing.
Their potent alchemy is the skeleton key that unlocks “Dark Legacy”. With the tap of his fingers, Boyle casts a menacing spell from gloomy minor chord dissonance and technical wizardry. Though it’s Rackham’s monstrous bass groove that hits like a spear straight through the heart.
“We took greater care with compositions on The Savage Winds to Wisdom”, Boyle says. “There’s more depth and layering to the riffs and melodies. By calling on a broader list of inspirations and tones, the album has a real sense of balance, a certain quality that will lend itself to repeat listens and attention to detail, while still staying true to what we set out to do with Black Lava; create heavy, energetic and catchy tunes that emanate a sense of atmosphere and power for the listener.”
The guitar playthrough of “Dark Legacy” was shot at Bushido Studios. It was filmed, edited and coloured by Black Lava’s drummer Dan Presland.
More praise for Black Lava
“Familiar yet undeniably creative, heavy and a clear statement in the darkness of music” – Metal Roos
“A fantastic album…wrapped up in a package that is so tight, you couldn’t squeeze in between the layers if you were as thin as paper.” – Metal Temple
“Black Lava scrachtes a particular itch when you need music that is heavy, groovy and gritty” – Metal Epidemic
“Riff after riff, chug after chug, these songs bleed with strength and perseverance” – Monuments in Ruin
Like any good sorcerer, Black Lava cast a wicked array of spells. Dan Presland, Ben Boyle and Rob Watkins treated Outburn magazine to a list of the band’s potent influences and most punishing songs.
Track list 1. Colour of Death (6:44) 2. Dark Legacy (4:08) [LISTEN] 3. Wrapped in Filth (4:03) 4. Unsheathing Nightmares (4:45) [WATCH] 5. Summoning Shadows (6:03) 6. Ironclad Sarcophagus (4:08) [WATCH] 7. Pagan Dust (4:46) 8. Sanguis Lupus (5:21) 9. The Savage Winds to Wisdom (7:07) Total runtime: 47:12
Not even the most stifling period in recent history could contain Black Lava. Despite being kept under strict lockdown during the pandemic, these Aussies were just stewing together, waiting to erupt. Now, only two years removed from their smoldering debut, the band are roaring back with even more mythical firepower on The Savage Winds to Wisdom.
“Our second album is a step up from the first in all aspects”, drummer Dan Presland says. “We took more time on the songwriting. The Savage Winds to Wisdom shows exactly where we want to take our music”.
Though possessed by an ancient and mysterious alchemy, Black Lava formed with the ease of a natural spring. Over the past decade, all four members have crossed paths around the various corners of Melbourne’s metal underground. On top of their progressive all-instrumental vision quests in Vipassi, Presland also drums alongside Hadal Maw guitarist Ben Boyle in the grinding, tech-death, underground curiosity A Million Dead Birds Laughing. But when the two got together to blow off steam amidst quarantine at Presland’s newly minted home studio, they were pleasantly surprised by the darkness that swept over these jam sessions.
“Both of us were dealing with a lot of pent-up frustrations”, Presland remembers. A few weeks before, his flight home from America (where he was supposed to track the drums for Ne Obliviscaris’ fourth album Exul) touched down hours before Australia closed its borders. “But that anger, coupled with our need to keep creating, led us in a different direction”.
Progressive metal was still a clear undercurrent, but the songs that came spewing out were unusually heavy. Death and black metal held more sway, though sludgy rock n’ roll also found its way into the mix. Such a peculiar range of influences required a vocalist with a very particular set of pipes. Fortunately, Rob Watkins jumped at the opportunity to reunite with Presland, who was the drummer in their thrash band Metalstorm. With Watkins’ Blackhelm bassist Tim Anderson added to the fold, Black Lava burst onto the scene in 2022 with their smoldering debut.
“Soul Furnace more than lives up to those lofty expectations”, Distorted Sound hailed, “proving to not only be a late contender for album of the year, but also one of the more impressive debut albums of recent years”.
Black Lava wasted no time in keeping the juices flowing. The band was already hard at work on their second album while the first one was hot on the shelves. The Savage Winds to Wisdom stirs from the same cauldron of influences. Lead single “Ironclad Sarcophagus” echoes from the crypt with eerie countermelodies and a rhythm section that’s more bewitching than a spell book.
“I pictured this ancient wizard sending out evil vibes into the world in hopes of tricking someone into opening his coffin”, Watkins says. “When writing lyrics, I try and stay true to the spirit of metal. But really, I’m just channeling how the music makes me feel”.
If Soul Furnace was like stumbling upon the entrance to an ancient cave, then The Savage Winds to Wisdom is a fiery, full-blown descent into the belly of the beast. “Dark Legacy” rings through the long black night with one sustained roar of a guitar roar, like an angry, one-eyed ogre. But while the songs came quickly, with Presland and Boyle carving out monstrous riffs and scaly grooves for Watkins to splatter his medieval fantasies, Black Lava took their time with this album. It’s not until nearly three minutes into the opening number, after “Colour of Death” has boiled to a full headbang, that the first of its many horns-up roars is unleashed.
“There was greater care taken with compositions on The Savage Winds to Wisdom”, Boyle says. “There’s more depth and layering to the riffs and melodies. Calling on a more broad list of inspirations and tones, the album has a real sense of balance, a certain quality that will lend itself to repeat listens and attention to detail, while still staying true to what Black Lava set out to do; create heavy, yet energetic and catchy anthemic tunes that tell a story and emanate a sense of atmosphere and power for the listener.”
True to its name, The Savage Winds to Wisdom swirls within a deeper and darker sense of atmosphere. Whereas before their bang-bang approach to songwriting resembled something closer to a punk rock band, this time around, Black Lava concentrated more on atmosphere. “Unsheathing Nightmares” reveals its root source of terror in careful layers, mutating from raw black metal and razor-sharp tech-death into a rainy, ambient hellscape. “That’s one of the songs that really excited me”, says Watkins, who calls upon a coven of witches by digging into the slimier depths of his baritone.
The title track is big enough to stand alone as its own self-contained world. Winding over the course of seven eventful minutes, it’s the longest and perhaps most ambitious song in Black Lava’s musical geology. Blast beats pound like hail beneath waves of distortion that crash with the force of a monsoon. “The silents of fate” Watkins reckons, like a sea captain stranded among the wreckage. “The thousand winds swirl the soul”. Swept up by a screeching solo from special guest Ben Baret (Ne Obliviscaris), the song whirls into an unstoppable force, a torrential finale that brings this album to a truly epic conclusion.
“We sharpened our tools with this album”, the band says. “We went a little more brutal and that sets the tone for where we’ll head in the future.
On The Savage Winds to Wisdom, Black Lava conduct a perfect storm.
Recording line-up Dan Presland (drums) Ben Boyle (guitar) Ben Boyle (bass) Rob Watkins (vocals)
Guest musician Benjamin Baret (Ne Obliviscaris, Vipassi) plays the guitar solo on “The Savage Winds to Wisdom”.
Live line-up Dan Preslans (drums Ben Boyle (guitar) Nick Rackham (bass) Rob Watkins (vocals)
Recording studio Bushido Studios in Melbourne, Australia
Producer and sound engineer Troy Mccosker
Mastering, mixing and engineering Studio Fredman and Fredrick Nordstrom
Today, dark rockers The Other Sun stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Daimon, Devil, Dawn. Set for international release on July 23rd – Invictus Productions will be handling the album’s European release while The Ajna Offensive will be handling the North American release – hear The Other Sun‘s Daimon, Devil, Dawn in its entirety here:
“Dark rock” is how The Other Sun define their sound. “Occult rock” would also be appropriate.
When you read “dark,” don’t think of this as an angry, angsty darkness, but rather an exploration of the Inner Self infused with the psychedelic, a Western twang, the profound demeanor of deep-rooted occultism that conjures both the sunrise and the sunset and all that such implies when studied through the individual. Dreams start from darkness and turn into that invisible light which compels the Promethean spirit in Man.
The Other Sun draw influence from surf rock, western score, and ’70s rock. People have suggested they hear bits of Tito & Tarantula, Swans, Deep Purple, The Devil’s Blood, Virus (Norway), Dick Dale, and Ennio Morricone in their music. Daimon, Devil, Dawn is their debut album. Many of the lyrics are inspired by alchemical imagery as metaphors for the human condition. In particular, “Stalking the Stalker” was inspired by the poem “The Street” by Mexican author Octavio Paz.
The Other Sun was formed in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2018 by Fredrik Eytzinger. Their first EP, Horizon Between the Eyes, was released through Lapis Niger Productions in 2019.The current line-up consists of Fredrik Eytzinger (lyrics, vocals, guitars, bass), Árni Bergur Zoëga (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards), and Tommie Eriksson (session solo guitars).
Fredrik Eytzinger is a writer and has published several books and articles in Europe and the US on topics related to occultism and magic. He is also the founder of the dark ambient band Nuclear Spells. Árni Bergur Zoëga is a professional composer and sound designer who is also involved in several other projects, such as Árstíðir Lífsins, Carpe Noctem, Helrunar, and Sól án varma. Tommie Eriksson is the founder of Saturnalia Temple and ritual ambient project Lapis Niger. Guest vocals on the track “A New Dawn” were performed by Erik Molarin, previous singer of the Swedish gothic metal band Beseech and more currently Dark brs.
The album cover and lyric transcript was made by fine artist David S. Herrerías. The booklet photos were shot by Gothenburg-based photographer Peter Gaudiano, with layout by Heresie Studio.
Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for The Other Sun’s Daimon, Devil, Dawn
1. Shaking Ground 2. Stalking the Stalker 3. Black as Gold 4. Lion Spell 5. Horizon Between the Eyes 6. Conjuring Other 7. Pan 8. A New Dawn
