Through her work across five Vastum albums, Leila Abdul‑Rauf has been a resonant presence in 20 Buck Spin's discography for over fifteen years. Alongside this, she has built an impressive body of solo work, allowing her to showcase the full breadth of her multi‑instrumental and vocal artistry. 20 Buck Spin now welcomes this side of her output to the label, presenting her darkest and most confrontational material to date with the new album, Andros Insidium.

On Andros Insidium, Leila Abdul-Rauf guides the listener through a ceremonial descent into the very architecture of shadow. Unfolding like a ritual text etched in obsidian, each movement traces the violent yet sacred geometry of transformation. The presence and wisdom of the feminine divine loom throughout—an ancient, unyielding force in conflict with everything buried, exiled, or rendered monstrous by societal pressures and unrealistic expectations. The album delves deep into the vast darkness of the female psyche: wild, ugly, vulnerable, and powerful.

Sonically, Andros Insidium mutates the cinematic dark ambient, industrial, and ritual folk elements of her earlier releases into something far darker, more narrative, and more intimate. Abdul‑Rauf's vocal work takes on a new prominence, exploring a wider range of styles and personas as she exorcises the demons of patriarchal fragmentation and revenge fantasy as lived myth. At its most potent, Andros Insidium suggests that wholeness is not purity or light, but the terrifying act of reclaiming everything once discarded—and learning to speak with its voice.

Composed, recorded, and performed by Leila Abdul-Rauf, Andros Insidium features guest contributions from Samuel Foster (ex‑Saros, ex‑Weakling), Kienan Hamilton (Cartilage, False Figure), Gregory C. Hagan (ex‑Common Eider, King Eider, ex‑Thomas Carnacki), and Drew Zercoe (Field Of Fear), all adding to the album's intensity. The record was mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios (High On Fire, Autopsy, Vastum), with cover art by Justyna Koziczak, layout by Chimere Noire, photography by Samuel Foster, and calligraphy by Gregory C. Hagan. Fans of Dead Can Dance, Diamanda Galás, Arcana, Amber Asylum, Jarboe, Swans, and Chelsea Wolfe should make Abdul‑Rauf's Andros Insidium a priority listen.

The first preview of Andros Insidium arrives in the form of a captivating and haunting video for its title track—a Tritonia Films production, directed and produced by Marcelle Marais.

Leila Abdul-Rauf reveals: "Conceptually, the title track is a revenge fantasy of a survivor against their abuser through castration and sodomy, which in this particular story, is enacted by a vengeful goddess. It speaks to the rage-filled fantasy the individual has against an attacker, as well as the collective rage caused by systemic abuse through sexual, political, relational, emotional control. The goddess's acts of revenge symbolise a reckoning against patriarchal harm and an imagined dawning of a new age where feminine power and wisdom are restored – violent and unapologetic. Marcelle Marais and Co. of Tritonia Films created the video and did an incredible job, truly capturing the raw emotions of the song with scenes that are cinematically gorgeous and disturbing".

Andros Insidium will be released on vinyl, CD, and digitally on 17 April.

Further videos and previews will be unveiled in the coming weeks. Leila Abdul-Rauf has already begun performing live in support of the album and will announce additional dates throughout the year. Link