Atlanta black metal outfit Cloak have released a music video for “Nigredo – Initium,” the lead single from their forthcoming fourth studio album, ‘Above, Below & Through’. The new record is slated for release on February 12 through Metal Blade Records.
The band have described the album as a concept-driven effort exploring the boundaries between opposing states of existence, including life and death, dreams and consciousness, and the animal and human sides of nature. Cloak offered the following explanation of the themes woven throughout the record:
“The main concepts of the songs were dealing with pathways between life and death, realms between dream and consciousness, shifts between beast and man, and the juxtaposition of shadow and light as spiritual guides. The album title’s meaning became clear, as something both all-encompassing and complete, but also something liminal and transitional. This is represented in both the songs and the band itself at the time of writing the album.”
The group also characterized ‘Above, Below, & Through’ as an expansion of the sound they established on their previous album, ‘Black Flame Eternal’, while emphasizing that the new material stands on its own.
As for the choice of lead single, Cloak explained that “Nigredo – Initium” was the first track they began developing with their new lineup, making it a fitting introduction to this next chapter.
“A tale of being marked from the beginning. ‘Nigredo – Initium’ was the first song we started working on as a new lineup, which is very fitting considering the translated title. It is the initial door that opens to the world that is ‘Above, Below, & Through’, and the start of a new dark age.”
Recording sessions for the album were overseen by Alex Parra of Paladin.
The track listing for ‘Above, Below, & Through’ is as follows:
- “Nigredo – Initium”
- “Of Shadow & Sleep”
- “Into Death’s Light”
- “Horrors Profound”
- “Levitation”
- “The Arcane Beckoning”
- “The Mare”
- “Above, Below, & Through”
Pre-orders are available through Metal Blade Records.
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