Austrian post-black metal group Harakiri For The Sky has unleashed the third track, "Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Radiohead cover, feat. Groza)", from its upcoming album, Scorched Earth, due on 24 January 2025 via AOP Records.

"The great thing about Harakiri For The Sky is that everything comes naturally - no rushed writing or hasty releases", says J.J. "So, Scorched Earth came together after years of experimenting with untypical sounds, yet on the other hand trying to stay true to our original post black metal style." He explains that the album's writing process began a few months after the release of Maere, during a time when the band - and the world - emerged from the isolation of the pandemic. "It still seemed like one crisis followed another. Our society is divided to its core and peace seems further away than ever in the last decades. This is what inspired the title of the new album: 'Scorched Earth' is a snapshot of the world we are living, a world that's tragically broken."

Musically, Harakiri For The Sky continues to evolve but doesn't stray too far away from the path they have been walking for the past 13 years. Its music is renowned for its melancholic, deeply emotional tone, exploring themes of existential despair, inner turmoil, and the human condition. Over the years, these themes have solidified their place as pioneers of their genre.

"When it comes to the lyrics, not much has changed", J.J. shares. "Our songs still revolve around life's three fundamental pillars: love, life, and death. But as we grow older, it takes longer to find new ways to express those feelings. The process is slower, but in the end, the poem becomes more solid and meaningful when, you let it grow. We've applied this same philosophy to the music on Scorched Earth."

The cover art, created by Brvno Gonzalez, is as striking as it is symbolic. "For an album called Scorched Earth, we needed a pretty dark artwork, as you can imagine. We chose purple - a colour we had never worked with before. If you look closely, you'll notice all the animals fleeing the burning city and forest are references to the creatures portrayed on our previous album covers. Therefore, Scorched Earth is like the conclusion of all the albums we've done in the past, all that Harakiri For The Sky stands and stood for, musically and lyrically. This is what we stand for, this is what made us, this is our story. To be continued..."

Also, the band is ready to return to the stage, kicking off an extensive North American tour with Swallow The Sun in February, followed by a European headline tour in April to unveil Scorched Earth to the world. Link