Czechia-based gothic rock act Cathedral In Flames released its new album, Count To Nine, today via Musicraft label. The band has also shared a video for the "Dreaming In The Witch House" track. The themes of the songs cover contemporary psychological problems and addictions, Lovecraftian mysticism and magical sexual practices.

The title, Count To Nine, refers to the number of songs and the mystical number "9". Nine is the number of fulfilment, closure and completion. It also symbolizes the coming of age and the connection between dimensions and worlds on all levels.

The nine tracks were mixed by the legendary John Fryer (Fields Of The Nephilim, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Paradise Lost, Cradle Of Filth and more). The band has significantly tightened up its dark gothic rock on this album, from the hypnotic and gothic rock purist track "Dreaming In The Witch House" to the cowboy shuffle of "Pale Rider" to the dark pop of "Summertime".

Vocalist Phil Lee Fall says of the album: "On Count To Nine we tried to cross boundaries. We ventured further and deeper than ever before. Musically, lyrically and sonically. It took us almost three years, but we are extremely happy with the result. Dark, mystical and monumental gothic rock for the 21st century".

Gatsby adds: "Each track is heavily influenced by the mood and situations in which it was created. That's why I make music, to get the emotion out. So the fact that it's dark is probably natural. In a way, it's a catharsis of the disgust and confusion we live in".

Coming from mysterious Prague with an unrecorded past that goes back to the times before the fall of the Iron Curtain and the early 90s, the dark legend appears from nowhere and is here to please all the fans of classic gothic rock. And what is more, it will do so in the 21st-century vibe. Their first record, Children Of The Blackest Hole EP, was released in December 2019.

The two key members, Phil Lee Fall, a vocalist and a lyricist, and Gatsby, a composer and a bass, keyboard and guitar player, are accompanied by the angel's voice of Ambra von Bernstein and the wild guitarist Billac deVille. Cathedral In Flames released its first regular full-length, Hang Me High And Bury Me Deep, in 2021. Since then, the band spit out several singles and now Count To Nine, a modern gothic rock album with roaring guitars, pumping bass, tribal drums and both guttural and angelic vocals. Link