Finnish melancholic doom/death ensemble, Hanging Garden, have shared details of their new studio album, Isle Of Bliss, set for release on 20 March via Agonia Records. In anticipation of the album, the seven-piece have revealed a music video for its opening track, "To Outlive The Nine Ravens".

On their ninth full-length, Isle Of Bliss, takes a different approach to their signature sombre melancholy: the new full-length presents perhaps a darker, more sinister rendition of the oftentimes dreamlike tones of the past releases. Synths and sweet and airy vocal layers – albeit still present - give more room for a heavier aesthetic in the drum and guitar work.

The album was recorded across various studios in southern Finland, with drums tracked at Klaukkala's renowned D-Studio by master engineer Jarno Hänninen. Mixing and mastering duties were handled by none other than the legendary Jaime Gomez Arellano, celebrated for his work with Opeth, Moonspell, Ghost, and many others. The artwork was crafted by Kalle Pyyhtinen (Children Of Bodom).

The album's themes revolve around the spiritual aspects of life, death and the liminality in between. The landscapes shift from the introspection of one's core self, travelling past dense forests and deathless isles – all the way to the vast and distant infinities of the dying stars and the vast and eternal voids spun between.

The band comments on the album: "This time we decided to take a more conscious step towards a more bare-bones composition on the new songs, supporting the perhaps darker and maybe even more ferocious side of our music. We happened to meet with Gomez during a live show of ours a few summers back, and he was an obvious choice for the sound we had in mind. And as we see it, he really delivered".

"To complement the rawer sound, we also decided to make more use of Riikka's capability to scream – a stark contrast to her aetheric cleans – and this can be witnessed in the death metal duets between her and Toni that can be found a-plenty along the tracks." Link