It’s been a protracted and heavy journey for Ahamkara for the reason that launch of their debut album, and, till now, solely recorded materials, The Embers of the Stars. Vocalist Steve Black handed away in 2015, shortly after the album was launched, and Ahamkara didn’t launch something new… till immediately.
The band’s lineup has modified some, with Austin Lunn (Panopticon) stepping behind the drum equipment alongside authentic keyboardist Alexandra Blenkarn-Durning and guitarist Michael Blenkarn, who additionally handles vocals on their new album, The Harrow of the Misplaced.
“Following ten years of silence after the discharge of their debut album The Embers of the Stars and the premature demise of vocalist Steven, Ahamkara return with a brand new lineup and new album The Harrow of the Misplaced, an unflinching exploration of the transformative nature of grief,” Ahamkara inform Decibel in an announcement.
“An emotionally charged and fiercely private report, The Harrow of the Misplaced takes the Ahamkara sound in a extra complicated and tormented course, encompassing existential rage, nihilistic despair and all in between. Each rawer and extra natural in sound, intensified by the electrifying drum work of recent member Austin Lunn (Panopticon), and scaling better peaks of Emperial ambition than ever earlier than, the album integrates the expansive attain of the Cascadian black steel sound with the densely detailed savagery of basic Emperor and the aching melancholy of early Anathema to supply a deeply involving journey of genre-transcending atmospheric steel. Accomplished by a heartfelt and uncompromising vocal efficiency from founder member Michael and the nuanced, evocative synth work of Alexandra (additionally of labelmates Nemorous), it is a journey into the scorched earth landscapes of bereavement that no follower of the Bindrune household ought to miss.”
Alongside the album announcement comes new tune “Our Scars Shall Abide within the Thaw.” It’s each bit as emotional and spectacular as described, and you’ll hearken to it beneath. The Harrow of the Misplaced is out on April 25, 2025 through Bindrune, with a restricted variety of European copies out there through Nordvis.