“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” (Revelation 8:10-11)
Originally released in 2017 by Dark Descent Records and long sold-out, “Holókauston” is – for now – the crowning achievement of BESTIA ARCANA, the occultist Black Metal outlet for Naas Alcameth (AKHLYS, AORATOS, NIGHTBRINGER) alongside current and ex-members of NIGHTBRINGER.
The successor to 2011’s acclaimed “To Anabainon ek tes Abyssu” is a stark reminder of the labyrinthine depths Alcameth had mined prior to recent achievements with oneiric and nightmarish entity AKHLYS – outlandish, shadow-crafted, compulsive and still vital.
Tracklist:
01. Hellmouth
02. Obscurator
03. Howling
04. Iniquity
The artwork was created by David Herrerias (AKHLYS, GRAVE MIASMA, IRKALLIAN ORACLE).
BESTIA ARCANA is:
Ophis – main vocals
Naas Alcameth – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboard
Menthor – drums
Additional vocals recorded by T. Kaos.
All music composed by Naas Alcameth, all lyrics by Naas Alcameth & Ophis. Mixed and mastered by Dave Otero (AKHLYS, COBALT, KHEMMIS).
In celebration of this heretical and apocalyptic black opera, DMP will reissue “Holókauston” on CD, vinyl – including an exclusive DMP edition – and digital on July 17th. This edition reaffirms the album’s enduring and strikingly prescient cataclysmic stance, as Naas Alcameth reflects:
“When we recorded “Holókauston“, it expressed eschatological vision and apocalyptic dread, reaching toward archetypal depths. Nearly a decade later, we find ourselves in a time of greater uncertainties and eroding paradigms. Its themes feel less like distant myths or parables and more like something fearfully close and inevitable. This re-release reminds us that “Holókauston” was never tied to a single moment but continues to resonate wherever the looming shadow of Armageddon falls.“
Listen to the album via Bandcamp!
Pre-orders for “Holókauston” on CD, vinyl and digital are available via DMP’s EU, US and Bandcamp shops – including a new specially-crafted t-shirt design.
Heretical black opera forged in adverse esoteric and eschatological tradition. A marriage of cacophonous pandaimonic black metal and amorphic ritualistic death ambient. The gnosis of the Old Enemy espoused within the clamor of Apocalyptic Revelation.
