Doomed Nation

Sounds For The Lost Generation

Woe Unto Me release a video for the second single »Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning« taken from their forthcoming album

Belarusian funeral doom metal band Woe Unto Me has unveiled a video for the second single »Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning« taken from their forthcoming album, »Among The Meandering Ordeals, Reshape The Pivot Of Harmony«, set to release via M-Theory Audio in early spring 2023.

»Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning« is available now on all streaming platforms!

Courtesy of M-Theory Audio:

Woe Unto Me release video/single for »Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning«

Belarus’ Woe Unto Me is no stranger to some as the group formed in 2008 by guitarists Artyom Serdyuk (also of Deathbringer) and Dzmitry Shchyhlinski and appeared on the scene with their 2014 debut album, »A Step Into The Waters Of Forgetfulness«, on Solitude Productions and its 2017 follow-up, »Along The Lightened Skies The Voidness Flashed«. Both equally revered by underground and European press and cementing their name as a band to watch for fans of all things doom. For several years supporting these albums Woe Unto Me performed all over Eastern Europe on tours and festivals in Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania. Ukraine, Poland, Finland and Russia, sharing stages with Shape of Despair, Saturnus, Ereb Altor, Hate, Arkona, Mors Principium Est, Swallow The Sun, Ophis and more. Now signed to M-Theory Audio it’s time to expand their depression and mournfulness across Western Europe and North America with next year’s album release, »Among The Meandering Ordeals, Reshape The Pivot Of Harmony«, internationally early next spring.

From that album comes the six-piece’s second single, »Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning«, including a lyric video created by Raf Ortega of Ecliptic Visions (Ayreon, Subterranean Masquerade, Hecate Enthroned) which can be viewed here.

“Imagine yourself running in the constant movement of life keeping its fast pace, but suddenly you stop to take a breath,” explains vocalist Igor Kovalyov regarding the song’s lyrical perspective. “You find yourself far way from the wild stream of time. You are a lone observer. You see how everything around is changing rapidly. Nevertheless, you, your principles and hopes remain unchanged. You are in harmony with yourself in your solitude while the fate of millions is being ground in the chaos of life. This song is about this condition – ‘Panta Rhei’ which means ‘everything flows’, a concept in the philosophy of Heraclitus.”

“For Heraclitus, fire nourishes life which moves upwards in a path of creation. Then a downward path of destruction follows as life gives place to death in a circular path that never ceases. Sri Aurobindo, the Indian philosopher, found a lot of similarities between Heraclitus’ though and various forms of Hindu mysticism. This is also one of the pivotal ideas in our album. Being and non-being are opposed to each other but also two sides of the same coin. Without the one, the other cannot be. Consequently, the upward and downward path, although they appear different, are in fact the same, as both are becoming their opposite. The world flows and constantly changes. During this unending process of morphing, life becomes death, death life, and everything gives its place to something else,” further reveals guitarist Artyom Serdyuk.

“The music is also both very soothing and quite soft but at the same time the general atmosphere is pretty dark and creates tension. The structure of the song depicts the same flow and circular path. The title of the song, in its turn, also reflects the whole spirality that we’re talking about but emphasizing the moment when the spiral movement stops for our main character. With a slight change it’s borrowed from the phrase in Vladimir Nabokov’s novel »Pale Fire«. Many of you probably noticed the same quote also in Denis Villeneuve’s movie »Blade Runner 2049«.”

»Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning« follows the first single, »Deep Beneath The Burden«, with its accompanying music video which can be seen here. Both songs come from the group’s anticipated new album, »Along The Meandering Ordeals, Reshape The Pivot Of Harmony«, which is expected in early spring (watch for pre-orders soon) and continues the group’s continued evolution and maturity musically and lyrically.

“The idea for the lyrics in the song »Deep Beneath The Burden« is inspired by Erich Fromm’s investigations in »The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness«,” explains singer Igor Kovalyov. “As you will learn the whole concept of the album is strongly associated with the idea of transformation. This song is not an exception. Here we are talking about doubt or hesitation and how this disturbing feeling morphs into obsession and action. The whole video clip is divided into four scenes. The first one is about the state of uncertainty, where the doubt is discovered. The idea is mostly inspired by the first lines of Dante’s journey to hell from his outstanding »Divine Comedy«. The next two scenes are about an acceptance of doubt and its transformation into an idea of destruction. The last one is a tragedy of a human obsession. The main character brings his doubt into real life and transforms the idea into action.”

“Musically the new record is the continuation of our movement into more progressive realms of doom metal. This is not a typical funeral doom or death-doom, but it contains the elements of all kinds of doom metal sub-genres,” states Artyom. “I think this album is going to be the most atmospheric, eclectic and mature in our discography so far. It’s quite complex musically and lyrically but at the same time I think it will be easier in terms of perception and more interesting even for the listeners that are not the fans of a classical doom metal. In terms of lyrics on this album we decided to move away from the typical plots for this kind of music and refused to just describe depressive or destructive conditions of a human being. We focused on the investigation of the nature of these feelings and tried to analyze them from the philosophical point of view.”

More information on Woe Unto Me and the upcoming album release will be revealed in the weeks to come at facebook.com/woeuntome and by M-Theory Audio.

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well

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