Hooded Menace reawaken classic horror on »Pale Masquerade«; new album »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration« out October 3rd via Season Of Mist!
Finnish death/doom metal band Hooded Menace premiere the second single »Pale Masquerade« taken from their new full-length album, »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«, set to release on October 3rd, 2025 via Season Of Mist.
Tracklist:
01. Twilight Passages
02. Pale Masquerade
03. Portrait Without A Face
04. Daughters Of Lingering Pain
05. Lugubrious Dance
06. Save A Prayer
07. Into Haunted Oblivion
Courtesy of Season Of Mist:
Ever since they formed in 2007, Hooded Menace have commanded hordes of underground metalheads with creepily, crushing tempos. Their upcoming seventh album is still grounded in classic horrors. But on »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«, the Finnish stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.
“…an ominous, cinematic plunge into horror-inspired doom, blending eerie atmosphere with crushing heaviness,” Metal Injection wrote in praise of the album’s first single.
Today, Hooded Menace are releasing the second advanced single from »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«. »Pale Masquerade« unveils a scene that’s chillingly familiar for cult followers. But by leaning heavier on classic influences, the band cast their age-old muse in a ghostly new light.
Listen to »Pale Masquerade« on the Season Of Mist YouTube channel.
»Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration« comes out October 3, 2025 on Season Of Mist. Pre-order & pre-save HERE.
Photo by Pasi Nevalaita
»Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration« still honors the undead spirit that spawned Hooded Menace’s accursed two-track demo. On the album’s cover, Wes Benscoter summons the titular ghouls from the ’70s Spanish horror film series »The Blind Dead« in all of their haunting glory. »Pale Masquerade« officially opens the proceedings at a doomy march that summons Amando de Ossorio’s vengeful muse back amongst the living. “The dead army grows,” vocalist Harri Kuokkannen commands with growls that reek of the crypt.Founding member Lasse Pyykkö still stands as the main supportive pillar for Hooded Menace. His riffs tear through the band’s new single like flesh from bone. But »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration« hammers home the ’80s heavy metal influence that the band rung in on »The Tritonus Bell«. Misty keys drape »Pale Masquerade« in an eerie, neon glow. “A clandestine, sinister daze / In the Knights Templar way.” As the drums push the pace to a rotten rumble, a guitar solo cracks across the darkened sky like a flash from the past.
More about »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«:
On the precipice of their third decade, Hooded Menace stand not as a bridge but the pillar between two distinct realms of underground metal. The band’s seventh album is still rooted in cultish obsession with classic horrors. But with »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«, these stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.
The Knights Templar still stand watch over »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«. »Pale Masquerade« summons film director Amando de Ossorio’s flesh-eating muse with a fresh heap of bone-crunching chugs and death growls that reek of the tomb. While the lasting influence of Candlemass and Paradise Lost hasn’t vanished without a ghostly trace, Hooded Menace continue to break the mold. Old school heshers will headbang with delight upon hearing a pop gem like »Save A Prayer« splattered with the band’s signature blood-soaked dread.
»Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration« hammers home the ‘80s heavy metal influence that Hooded Menace rung in on »The Tritonus Bell«. As if from a trance, drums snap into a gallop amidst blistering leads drip with neon. MicroPitching and other effects aren’t the only tricks pulled out from under the band’s cloak, either. What should appear from the double bass swirling beneath lead single »Portrait Without A Face« but the deeply haunting moan of a cello.
With »Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration«, Hooded Menace cast death-doom in a ghostly new light.
Recording credits:
Recorded at Guru Studio, Joensuu, Finland
Mixed by Heikki Marttila
Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios, Portugal
Hooded Menace is:
Lasse Pyykkö – Guitar, Bass, Keyboard
Harri Kuokkanen – Vocals
Pekka Koskelo – Drums
Guest musician:
Antti Poutanen – Cello
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well