German symphonic metal collective Coronatus proudly announce their upcoming studio album, Dreadful Waters, a dark and ambitious exploration of the mysteries, dangers, and mythic forces of the sea.
Scheduled for release on 23 January 2026 by Massacre Records, the album will be available as a Mediabook CD and digitally. Alongside the album announcement, the band revealed the first single and lyric video, "The Maelstrom", offering a dramatic and immersive first glimpse into the record's nautical world.
Inspired in part by Edgar Allan Poe's tale, A Descent Into the Maelstrom, the new single describes a heroic, deliberate plunge into a colossal turmoil: a symbolic journey toward the unknown, undertaken with purpose and sacrifice. Musically, "The Maelstrom" weaves folk-tinged passages, dramatic tempo shifts, atmospheric interludes, and orchestral metal intensity, mirroring the surge, retreat, and raw power of extreme tides. The track perfectly sets the tone for Dreadful Waters: a symphonic metal voyage that dives into the darkest, most mysterious facets of the ocean.
For Coronatus, water becomes a symbol of all that is deep, unseen, dangerous, and awe-inspiring. While the previous album, Atmosphere, focused on threats in the "airy" realm, Dreadful Waters shifts the narrative toward oceans and seas: environments rich in myth, peril, and emotional metaphor. Musically, the band once again offer an expansive spectrum of styles: symphonic metal as the foundation, enriched by folk elements, dramatic orchestrations, and experimental touches that have become a trademark of the Coronatus sound. The songwriting comes not only from drummer and founder Mats Kurth, but also from vocalist Nemesis and guitarist Harry Zeidler, widening the creative scope of the album.
Dreadful Waters was produced by Markus Stock and Mats Kurth at Klangschmiede Studio E, where Stock also handled mixing and mastering. His signature depth and clarity amplify the album's dark maritime atmosphere. The cover artwork, created by Michael Krebes, visually captures the album's descent into the unknown, merging mysticism, danger, and the elemental force of water.
Coronatus will celebrate the new album with an exclusive release show on Saturday, 24 January 2026, at Bryggaren, Västervik, Sweden. The band will perform the entire new album live, along with a selection of fan-favourite older pieces. Link
Dreadful Waters tracklist:
1. The Maelstrom
2. Through The Brightest Blue
3. To The Reef!
4. The Ship's Cook
5. Southern Cross
6. The Siren
7. A Seaman's Yarn
8. Dark Ice
9. Die Hexe und der Teufel
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"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 speech that they hate is my speech, but my speech is not a hate speech. What can you do? You can just mirror/reflect them - hopefully, they will see how grotesque..." - Dero Goi
"We only make an album when we feel genuinely inspired. You can't just say, "OK, I'm going to record a new album", because without inspiration, it would be boring." - Gregor Mackintosh
