ILLUDIUM - Unveils First Single And Video From The Forthcoming Album

The Californian dream-gazers Illudium, the brainchild of guitarist and vocalist Shantel Amundson, are now unveiling the melancholic video meditation on the natural world "Soma Sema" as the first single taken from their forthcoming album, Ash Of The Womb, which is slated for release on the 15th of October via Prophecy Productions. Illudium is also revealing cover art, tracklist, and further details of the new full-length below.

Shantel Amundson comments: "Our first single, "Soma Sema" revolves around the idea of freedom from the fetters of the body, the principles of our attachment to Earth, and our subsequent release. The song deals with the turbulence and suffering that we encounter throughout our lives, physically and spiritually. The lyrical concept is representative of the overarching theme of this album, of death within the womb and life within the tomb. Maternal mortality and posthumous births are topics that are very personal to me and something that I sought to honour in this song. Yet these themes can also be applied, as is the intention with this album, to our relationship with Earth, our impact on its ecosystems, and the exploitation of the natural world for the progression of human purposes."

Ash Of The Womb, the sophomore full-length from Illudium was born in the fiery pandemonium of the burning season of 2020 when huge tracts of the sunshine state went up in flames, while skies glowed orange at night. The lands were scorched, forests and houses turned to ash, lives were lost and what remained was covered in black soot. During this hard time, mastermind, guitarist, and vocalist Shantel Amundson experienced profound changes in her life as well, which amount to a personal ordeal of fire. The many layers of dark and harsh metal shading on this album can easily be seen as a residue from those events.
 
Yet, this is far from all that has influenced Ash Of The Womb. There are still those sun-drenched textures and honey-rich passages from the band's beginning on Septem (2016) that reflect the beautiful landscapes of the Pacific Coast, the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains, and the blue ocean among which Shantel grew up and to which she returns time again in search of inspiration for Illudium. Watch now and listen to "Soma Sema" in the player below. Link

Ash Of The Womb tracklist:
01. Aster
02. Sempervirens
03. Soma Sema
04. Ātopa
05. Madrigal
06. Where Death And Dreams Do Manifest