Italian doom/death metal outfit Swarm Chain stream new full-length album »Cernunnos«; out today via Underground Symphony!
Piacenza, Italy based doom/death metal outfit Swarm Chain has just released their sophomore full-length album »Cernunnos« this Friday, November 28th, 2025 via Underground Symphony.
Tracklist:
01. Cernunnos
02. The Storm Within
03. Earth Silent Secret
04. The Shaman
05. Sacred Ember
Courtesy of Underground Symphony:
Today, November 28th, 2025, »Cernunnos«, the second album by Italian doom/death band Swarm Chain, is released. The album is available now on all streaming services and on the band’s Bandcamp page.
The album was recorded at Elfo Studio (Piacenza, Italy) and mixed by guitarist and producer Daniele Mandelli. It is released via Underground Symphony. Mastering was handled by James Plotkin, while the artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu, a visual artist who has worked over the past 20 years with countless bands from the metal and extreme music scene, crafting iconic and historically significant imagery.
»Cernunnos« is a concept album exploring the reactions of a primitive man in the face of the forces of nature. Each track depicts an encounter with a different power: water, fire, animals, stars, and shamans. The band’s sound has become darker and more melancholic, and this album stands as a plunge into a primordial world – a journey driven by crushing doom metal and decadent melodies, torn apart by Death Metal outbursts and enriched by an epic, monolithic aura.
Photo by Alex Mai
Swarm Chain is a doom/death metal band formed in 2020, featuring two guitarists, bass, drums, and a dual vocal approach that intertwines growl/scream and clean vocals throughout their songs. Their sound blends the weight and aggression of death metal with the gothic, melodic atmospheres reminiscent of Candlemass and Paradise Lost.
Their debut album »Looming Darkness« was released in 2022 via Punishment 18 Records. Now, Swarm Chain return with their highly anticipated second full-length, »Cernunnos«, out on November 28th, 2025 through Underground Symphony. Just like the debut, the new record was tracked at Elfo Studio (Piacenza, Italy), with mixing handled by guitarist and sound engineer Daniele Mandelli – known for his work with numerous acts in the metal scene, including the acclaimed Forgotten Tomb – while James Plotkin (Conan, Sunn O))), Electric Wizard, Voivod, among many others) took care of the mastering.
The striking cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu, a renowned visual artist who has collaborated with legends such as Paradise Lost, Candlemass, At The Gates, and Arch Enemy.
»Cernunnos« marks a new chapter for Swarm Chain, introducing the now permanent members Riccardo Tonoli (guitars) and Daniele Valseriati (drums), both formerly of Tragodia. Having joined the band shortly after the release of »Looming Darkness« and performing live since the very first show, their creative input helped shape and mature the band’s sound even further.
Musically and conceptually, »Cernunnos« is exploring the primal reactions of early man when faced with the untamed forces of nature. Across five interconnected tracks, the listener follows a journey of discovery through the eyes of a primitive being, confronting the mysteries of the world for the first time:
• Cernunnos – Named after the Celtic god of nature, fertility, and the underworld, often depicted with deer antlers. The song tells of a man’s awe and fear upon encountering a majestic creature in the forest, which he perceives as a divine entity.
• The Storm Within – The discovery of water and the struggle to survive a violent storm and flood; man flees in terror from an overwhelming force he cannot comprehend.
• Earth’s Silent Secret – A reflection on the alternation of day and night, sun and moon – a cosmic dance that bewilders and enchants man, marking the rhythm of his existence.
• The Shaman – The meeting with a shaman, a man capable of bridging the natural and the spiritual world, communicating with the dead and the gods.
• Sacred Ember – The discovery of fire: a powerful, ethereal force that fascinates and terrifies, seen as a manifestation of magic.
The album unfolds as a single, continuous composition divided into five movements – each seamlessly flowing into the next, mirroring the progression of these revelations and the awakening of human consciousness.
»Cernunnos« captures Swarm Chain’s most ambitious and evocative work to date: a hypnotic blend of heaviness, atmosphere, and mysticism – where doom meets death, and darkness gives birth to light.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well