Chicago monolithic sludge/doom metal trio Shrineburner to release debut LP »Hymns Of Despair« on September 11th; first single »Spectral Cataclysm« out now!
Chicago, Illinois based sludge/doom metal trio Shrineburner premiere the first single »Spectral Cataclysm« taken from their debut album, »Hymns Of Despair«, which will be released on September 11th, 2026.
Tracklist:
01. Void Of Guilt
02. Spectral Cataclysm
03. Bodies Dragged To Sunlight
04. Slow Death Chant
05. An Ocean Of Broken Hope
06. Hymn Of Despair
Courtesy of Earsplit PR:
Chicago, Illinois-based Shrineburner will deliver their monolithic debut album, »Hymns Of Despair«, on September 11th, today unveiling the record’s details including preorders and the lead single, »Spectral Cataclysm«.
Crushing riffs and seething melodies drive the earthquake-inducing trio Shrineburner, spewing forth a sonic glacier of abyssal doom/sludge metal infused with fringes of psychedelic, cosmic, blackened elements. With a heavy focus on music that is constantly building and riffs that mesmerize audiences, the trio has carved out their own niche in Chicago’s ever-present metal scene. Audiences have come to expect a wall of amps, searing guitar and bass tones, heavily stricken drums, and pummeling vocals.
Shrineburner formed in 2023 as a creative outlet for guitarist/vocalist Peter Norman and drummer Brent Favata, focusing heavily on a wall-of-sound approach to mantra-like riff writing. This, coupled with a general disdain for the evils of organized religion, resulted in the 2024 release of their debut EP, »Solitude«.
Photos by Tom Birch
Eventually opting for a fuller approach, and with Favata’s other projects becoming more demanding, Norman expanded the band to a trio. With the addition of CJ Johnson on bass, and Edward Hamel taking over on drums, 2025 was a big year of growth for Shrineburner. A more dynamic and fleshed-out approach was immediately evident, while still retaining the mantra-like sounds listeners had grown to expect. The group very quickly began to write what would eventually become their first full-length release, which now arrives with »Hymns Of Despair«.
Shrineburner frequently explores dark topics like general worthlessness in a dying world, organized religion being an ever-growing plague, and the general anxieties of existence on the album; however, musically, the band remains melodic, at times even uplifting. These factors are more present than ever before on »Hymns Of Despair«, the album rupturing with emotive devastation; well-felt dregs of hope within an earthmoving flow of brutalizing auditory collapse. This juxtaposition of themes offers listeners a trance-like sensory experience, especially live with the full power of the band’s crushing volume truly endured.
»Hymns Of Despair« was recorded and mixed by Matt Russell at Altered States in Chicago, mastered by Edward Hamel at Identity Mastering, and completed with cover art painted by Joshua Hondros. FFO Conan, Ufomammut, Amarok, Hush, Evoken, Black Shape Of Nexus, and Usnea are hereby advised to hear Shrineburner’s »Hymns Of Despair«.
“We find »Spectral Cataclysm« to be an in-depth glimpse into how the dynamics of the band have shifted to pushing a genre-less writing style, while retaining the band’s crushing heaviness and hypnotic melodies,” Peter Norman reveals with the album’s lead single. “The track is focused on building musically, coupled with an uplifting clean section that contradicts the general lyrical theme of uneasiness in a modern world. We feel it to be important not to let the darkness of things become all-encompassing.”
Shrineburner’s »Spectral Cataclysm« is now streaming on Bandcamp at THIS LOCATION and YouTube HERE.
The band will independently release »Hymns Of Despair« on September 11th digitally and on CD, with a vinyl pressing to follow later. Find current preorders options HERE and digital presaves HERE.
Expect additional audio and video content to drop over the weeks ahead preceding the album’s release.
Having played with the likes of Conan, Rifflord, Telekinetic Yeti, Stinking Lizaveta, Modern Life Is War, Minsk, Junius, Aseethe, among others, Shrineburner is currently booking shows in support of the album.
Shrineburner is:
Peter Norman – Guitar, Vocals
Edward Hamel – Drums
CJ Johnson – Bass
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well