From the burning heights of the sun to the lightless depths beneath all existence, Austrian black metal outfit Karner descend once more with their sophomore full-length album, Zebrest:Zintrest, slated for release on 17 December via Folter Records. The group have also shared the first preview of the forthcoming record with the track "Viech".

With its fusion of raw second-wave authenticity, elegiac melodies, and a lingering invocation of the forces of nature, folklore, and death, Zebrest:Zintrest emerges like a porous, moss-covered monolith destined to endure for eternity.

Zebrest:Zintrest is a movement between extremes: light and abyss, creation and destruction, defiance and downfall, the uppermost and the lowermost. It is a journey that begins in blinding radiance and ends beyond darkness itself. These contrasts shape every composition, giving the material its distinctive character. Fierce and unrestrained in its most frantic moments, yet vast and epic when it stretches beyond the horizon, the album unfolds as a world of opposing forces colliding and merging into one another. Written entirely in the band's regional dialect, it further deepens the uniqueness of its vision.

Formed in 2014 in Villach, Austria, Karner are now in their twelfth year of existence. Their first manifestation, Knochnkerker (Demo 2018), laid the foundation for a sound that would continue to evolve on the full-length Untam Liacht tota Stern (2022) and the Berg wocht EP (2023). Emerging once more from the abyss, the band now return with their second full-length offering, Zebrest:Zintrest (Eng. Topmost:Bottommost). The name Karner (Eng. charnel house) derives from an old regional term referring to a vault or hall where human skeletal remains are stored, usually near a church. In a broader sense, it is a place where the spirits of the dead gather, a shelter for unwanted and forlorn souls. The concept of death as an overwhelming power and the source of all fears, while also fostering creativity and inspiration, remains one of Karner's central themes. Driven by a collective approach to crafting grounded, dark music, the Austrian act follow their own path, drawing inspiration primarily from Vanitas motifs, nature, traditions, and the rugged landscapes of Southern Austria. Through sublime odes to death, written and performed in the local dialects of their homeland, they celebrate devastation and the irrepressible forces of nature. Link