Technical blackened death metal outfit Paindemonium is, after four years in the making and a ten-year hiatus, back with a new record, Latent, slated for release later this year.
Paindemonium was founded by Raafat "Raaf" Atasi (guitars/vocals), Mohamed Salama (guitars/vocals), and Haitham Aly (bass) in Egypt in 2007. The band started as a Dissection cover band before composing original material and, in 2010, released its first EP, Demonipathy. Soon after, the band disbanded due to political turmoil in the Middle East. In 2020, Raaf, who relocated to the Netherlands, and Salama revived it. In the same year, Yazan Ju joined the band as the new full-time bassist, and the band started working on the debut concept album Latent. A session drummer, Krzysztof Klingbein (live drummer of Vader, Hate and Belphegor), was hired to record drums for this release. In 2022 - and after recording a few songs - Salama got out of the band. However, Raaf and Yazan continued the recording process and, in June, released the first single/lyric video, "All Hail the Despot".
The album features seven guest musicians, including Tim "Ripper" Owens (KK's Priest, Ex-Judas Preist, Ex-Iced Earth), Stefan Nordström (Soliloquium, Ending Quest) and Inge Rijnja (Magoria), among others.
Latent is an epic journey that explores humanity - as a species and ideology. It depicts humans' deeply rooted proclivity towards atrocities throughout the ages and up until the present day. And it ends with a personal interpretation of the fate of humanity if the same patterns persist. Each song provides the thematic soundtrack for the chosen "scenes". Consequently, a mixture of different subgenres is incorporated within the album to create a soundscape that helps tell the story and gives it the proper dramatic texture. Last but not least, the magnificent artwork was designed by Aldo Yu Design. Link
Latent tracklist:
01. The Emanation (Intro)
02. Time Immemorial
03. Ostentatious Blood Spectacle
04. All Hail the Despot
05. Hypgnosis
06. Fragments of Humanity
07. Dazed by Equivocation
08. Cryogenized in Black
09. Disharmony of Spheres
10. Conflation
11. The Funeral of the Phoenix
12. Foul Obsessions
13. Derelict (Outro)
The enigmatic UK‑based electronic glamgoth duo Dead Lights unveil another facet of their ever‑expanding sonic identity with the release of their new single, “(The Edge Of) Dusk”. The...
With the release of "Silence Calls", UK‑based industrial/electronic artist j:dead continues his ambitious campaign to unveil twelve singles in twelve months. The track serves as a...
Australian/Finnish dark progressive gothic metal collective The Eternal have unveiled the striking new video for “Existing To Expire”, the second single taken from their forthcoming...
Philadelphia‑based progressive black metal outfit IATT have unveiled a new video single, "Walk Amongst”, taken from their forthcoming full‑length Etheric Realms Of The Night, slated...
"With this approach, we're in the minority nowadays, but it's precisely this niche and the emotions that were..." - Arkadiusz Wachowicz
"I find it really bizarre, because right after the concert, you're already on the internet. I mean, come on. It's very different from how it used to be, but it's fine." - Anja Huwe
"Art isn't meant to always be pretty and make us feel comfortable and good about ourselves. I'm not afraid to broach difficult emotions and to express the beautiful ones too." - Martin Saint
"Goth people want to have fun sometimes too. I guess if your listening time is 99% dark, sad songs or evil black metal songs, sometimes you want 1% joy, and here I come." - Franck Hueso
