Swedish gothic metal/rock act Ashen Sun has unveiled details of its upcoming EP Velarium, set for release on 27 March through Desert Plain Records. The six‑track offering delivers a brooding blend of gothic rock and gothic metal, with the first single “Black Thoughts” arriving on 27 February, followed by a second single on 13 March.
Ashen Sun is the latest creative incarnation of Johnny Hagel, stepping once more into the shadows after his years as bassist and co‑writer in Tiamat and Sundown. Conceived in solitude throughout 2024, the project bears the unmistakable weight of isolation: dimming worlds, internal erosion, and the suffocating quiet of a room where the walls seem to close in. Musically, Ashen Sun inhabits a cold, gothic rock landscape threaded with electronic undertones — 90s melancholy, cold‑wave synths and cinematic textures woven together without chasing modernity for its own sake. Hagel describes the project as “a requiem for fading empires and dying stars” — a fitting mission statement for the sound he’s sculpting.
Following the release of the debut single "Whisper To The Skull" in October 2025 and “Faith’s Funeral” in December 2025 — which quickly gained playlist traction and strong early reception — Ashen Sun now prepares to unveil the full EP. Velarium expands the project’s thematic palette into six bleak and atmospheric chapters: cynicism tightening its grip, devotion curdling into something corrosive, cities dissolving into smoke, the relentless turning of an unseen wheel, the apocalyptic backdrop of the title track, and a final fog‑shrouded descent where sleep drags the dead back into the room.
Below you can revisit last year’s debut single “Faith’s Funeral”, along with the cover artwork and full tracklist for Velarium. Fans of Tiamat, The Sisters Of Mercy, Fields Of The Nephilim, and Type O Negative should definitely check it out. Link
Velarium tracklist:
01. Black Thoughts
02. Desperate Vows
03. Ashes Of The World
04. An Ever Turning Wheel
05. Velarium
06. Dreaming Of The Dead
Betrayal, corruption, false gods, and a decaying order: "Obscure" emerges as the third single—following "Fine" and "Gölgesiz"—from Ductape's forthcoming album Faded Flowers, due for...
Australian/Finnish dark progressive gothic metal collective The Eternal opens a new chapter with the release of their animated lyric video for “Lament For The Hollow,” the first single...
Electronic artist SINE (aka Rona Rougeheart) has issued the fourth and final advance single, "Cruel", from her new album, La Mordre, out on 22 May on Metropolis Records.
German dark electro/cyberpunk force Neuroklast return with a new blast of high‑voltage aggression in the form of their latest single, “Incinerate”. The track arrives as a scorching...
"Within this darkness, where there's no light at all, the golden raven still shines. It's not like a perfectly cut statue of Michelangelo..." - Val Perun
"I'm sort of asking questions - where are the heroes? Where's the defiance? Where are the people who oppose this?" - Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill
"We were outsiders, and nobody knew what the fuck was going on. We just listened to this extreme music that nobody else liked, and that made us very strong..." - Mikael Stanne
"The whole thing for us with the lore we have created is inspired by Greek Mythology and the stories of Atlantis." - Phil Primmer
