Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Solo black metal project BIZARREKULT is now sharing the official music video for the title track from its upcoming sophomore full-length, ‘Den Tapte Krigen!’ Meaning “The Lost War,” the record will be released via Season of Miston January 27, 2023, making it BIZARREKULT‘s debut to the label! The song and video can now be found at THIS LOCATION.

BIZARREKULT mastermind Roman V. comments: “‘Den Tapte Krigen’ (The lost war) is a reflection on the everyday battle that consumes everything inside and outside, exploding the minds and deforming our  personalities. Is it worth it? What do we gain? How much (and whom) do we loose on the way to “victory?

“A bit of classical ‘Don Quixote’ by Cervantes plus a bit of post-modernist Pilevin ‘Life of Insects’ might hint on how the lyrics, choice of languages and visuals are connected.”

‘Den Tapte Krigen’ can be pre-ordered HERE and the album can be pre-saved on all digital streaming services HERE

The cover artwork for ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ was created by Ivan Gladkikh.

TRACKLIST
1. Du Lovet Meg (You promised me) [05:11] [WATCH]
2. Kongen (The King) [04:23] [WATCH]
3. Den Tapte Krigen (The Lost War) [04:40] [WATCH]
4. Hvis Jeg Bare Kunne… (If I Could Only…) [06:42]
5. Midt I Stormen (In the Middle of the Storm) [05:12] [WATCH]
6. Kjære Barn (Dear Child) [05:28]
7. Løslatt (Released/Set Free) [04:12]
8. Himmelen er Utilgjengelig (Heaven is not Available) [06:39]

Since the genre’s inception, black metal has been ruled by lone wolves. Individuals who blur the lines between “masterminds” and “madmen,” creating in solitude and willful confinement. From first and second wave purveyors such as BATHORY and BURZUM to this century’s revivalists like SAOR and PANOPTICON, these anomic souls have made incomparable contributions to the dark arts. And in 2022, BIZARREKULT paves a new yet familiar path, establishing itself as one of the cult visionaries of this decade.

Before finding his way to music, multi-instrumentalist Roman V was first a poet. Since childhood, Roman found an outlet in writing and by 2006, he created BIZARREKULT as an auditory accompaniment to his verbal expressions. “BIZARREKULT since the beginning was a quest of identity and philosophical search for answers on the questions that bother the mind at night and day,” explains Roman.

Despite the project’s inception 16 years ago, BIZARREKULT’s music did not make its debut until the release of ‘Vi Overlevde’ in 2021. As he started feeling challenged by the declining state of the world, Roman pursued a new path and decided to go straight to the environment that incubated and birthed the genre that he loves. As he relocated from Siberia to his current home of Norway, his new surroundings had its intended purpose and greatly impacted his musical journey. “After some initial recordings the project was set aside in order to deal with increasing mass challenges from the surrounding world. And then it ended up getting a spark a decade later in a different environment, nature, language and culture. So distant, but so close. Norway has become my second home and the last few years that led to revitalization of BIZARREKULT were spent on reflecting on myself, meaning, purpose and reuniting with the things that were important – art and creativity.”

Meaning “We Survived,” ‘Vi Overlevde’ was a very intimate, vulnerable, and personal offering. Roman describes the record as “a testament to survival through personal crisis” and notes that it is “filled with reflections on childhood, family and societal relations.” The musician took care to ensure that the record delivered a comprehensive package, aligning the music, artwork, and lyrics with exact precision.

As the world was collectively reckoning with the turmoil of year two of a global pandemic, the album’s message gave many hope. Fans started to emerge, reacting to the record with their own artistic interpretations as a way to pay tribute. The album also won the hearts of the media, appearing on a handful of “album of the year” lists, including scoring a third place position from Sweden’s biggest newspaper, Aftonbladet.

Now, BIZARREKULT is ready to enter a new chapter, forging a new union with Season of Mist and completing the work on its sophomore full-length, ‘Den Tapte Krigen.’ Meaning “The Lost War,” ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ thematically picks up the thread from where ‘Vi Overlevde” left off, but sees a musical evolution as BIZARREKULT continues to find and establish its identity. “The main message of ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ is about a constant war inside our lives, war with ourselves, our closest ones, our societies,” says Roman. “It’s a war in which we can lose everything, including our personality, faith, honour and dignity. However, similar to ‘Vi Overlevde’ that ends on a rather positive note, ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ contains a message of hope and reconnection, of necessity to make a peace with yourself, accept what you are, your identity, and share forgiveness and love. This is the only way out of the vicious circle.”

Studio line up:
Roman V.: vocals
Ignat P.: guitar, bass
Alexander P.: drums
Dina: vocals

Mixing + Mastering: Miguel Tereso – Demigod Recordings