“Nordlys”, MENTAL CRUELTY‘s newest offering describes the tale of the Nordic afterlife, where ancient deities and restless spirits reign with almighty wrath. Follow the journey of souls rising up to heaven, but beware the phantoms of the afterlife and the omen of bane; the “Nordlys” may be listened to HERE; the awesome music video (produced by Aurora Motion Pictures) can be watched below.

Mental Cruelty comments on the new single: “The song “Nordlys” is about ancient sagas of the northern lights, interpreted differently by Vikings and Norwegian tribes. These tales interpreted the lights in the sky in different ways. We should approach new situations positively, remembering fear often lies in our heads. Musically, it’s not a typical Mental Cruelty song, with an acoustic guitar intro and orchestration setting the mood. The song ends with a guitar riff that will make you want to headbang.”

Armed with new vocalist Lukas Nicolai, Mental Cruelty usher in a new epoch of unlight and grim determination that’s at the heart of their upcoming album, Zwielicht (translated in English as “Twilight”). Once again working with producer and mixer Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Ov Sulfur, Signs of the Swarm The Browning), they’ve pushed their sound to new blacker intensities forged in emotional riffing, heavy “back to the roots” breakdowns, and epic orchestral arrangements that surpass the already elite standards that have become synonymous with their name.

Mental Cruelty comments on the upcoming album: “Let us embrace a new era of darkness by bringing the “black” into blackened heavy music. Join us on the way down to infernal gates of hell to be rebirthed back to life. The album will contain the most mind-bending variety of different heavy musical influences and sounds. Epic symphonic orchestras accompanied by slam breakdowns; this will have it all. Inspired from metaphors written by nature, death, and inner demons.  

We can´t put into words the level of excitement we feel by announcing this album to you. We hope you feel the same way! Thank you for being with us and stay tuned for upcoming news!”

Zwielicht is coming. Mental Cruelty’s reign of darkness is just getting started.

Watch the previously released videos below:
“Zwielicht/Symphony of a Dying Star”
“Forgotten Kings”

Pre-order the album here.

Zwielicht, the latest full-length album from MENTAL CRUELTY, will be made available via Century Media Records on June 23. The remarkable very “Black Metal” Blackened Deathcore anthem “Forgotten Kings” may be listened to HERE; the awesome music video (produced by Aurora Motion Pictures) can be watched below.

Pre-Order Zwielicht here: https://mentalcruelty.lnk.to/Zwielicht

MENTAL CRUELTY comments on the new single: “This song is inspired by the Greek Prometheus saga or comparatively the story of the Lost Sinner from Dark Souls. It tells the story of a man that is shackled to a mountain summit. He stands for the feeling of being trapped and isolated and feeling guilty about it. The evil chord progressions combined with huge orchestral ornaments and fast-paced blast beats will give you a feeling of listening to almost old-schoolish Black Metal with a modern twist.”

They add on the album release: “Let us embrace a new era of darkness by bringing the “black” into blackened heavy music. Join us on the way down to infernal gates of hell to be rebirthed back to life. The album will contain the most mind-bending variety of different heavy musical influences and sounds. Epic symphonic orchestras accompanied by slam breakdowns; this will have it all. Inspired from metaphors written by nature, death, and inner demons.  
 
We can´t put into words the level of excitement we feel by announcing this album to you. We hope you feel the same way! Thank you for being with us and stay tuned for upcoming news!”

Zwielicht Tracklist:

1. Midtvinter
2. Obsessis a Daemonio
3. Forgotten Kings
4. Pest
5. Nordlys
6. Mortal Shells
7. Zwielicht
8. Symphony of a Dying Star
9. The Arrogance of Agony
10. A Tale of Salt and Light

Across four releases, beginning with 2016’s Pereat Mundus EP, MENTAL CRUELTY has woven together a violent tapestry of black metal, death metal, deathcore, and a madness of their very own. With 2021’s landmark LP, A Hill To Die Upon (Unique Leader), the German quintet not only set a new standard for themselves, but also the genre as a whole.
 
Rising from the ashes of personal and professional chaos, MENTAL CRUELTY spent the first half of 2021 seeking out a voice to continue to cement them an as uncompromising force in the German metal scene. After locking in Lukas, the band (rounded out by guitarists Nahuel Lozano and Marvin Kessler, bassist Viktor Dick and drummer Danny Straßer) reemerged bloodied but unbowed, ready to continue on their path to becoming an international force.

Armed with new vocalist Lukas Nicolai, MENTAL CRUELTY usher in a new epoch of unlight and grim determination that’s at the heart of their upcoming album, Zwielicht (translated in English as “Twilight”). Once again working with producer and mixer Josh Schroeder (LORNA SHORE, OV SULFUR, SIGNS OF THE SWARM, THE BROWNING), they’ve pushed their sound to new blacker intensities forged in emotional riffing, heavy “back to the roots” breakdowns, and epic orchestral arrangements that surpass the already elite standards that have become synonymous with their name.
 
Zwielicht is coming. MENTAL CRUELTY’s reign of darkness is just getting started.

Remember to catch Mental Cruelty on their first show this year supporting Heaven Shall Burn together with Any Given Day at their show in their hometown Karlsruhe on AUG 19th.

Mental Cruelty line-up:
Lukas Nicolai – Vocals
Nahuel Lozano – Guitars
Marvin Kessler – Guitars
Viktor Dick – Bass
Danny Straßer – Drums

Earlier this week, MENTAL CRUELTY dropped a surprise teaser for fans, hinting at upcoming music plus the identity of their new vocalist. Now, the band is releasing two new tracks – “Symphony of a Dying Star” and “Zwielicht” – to coincide with their news today, revealing their singer: Lukas Nicolai [of Sun Eater (formerly known as Impale)]. Stream “Symphony of a Dying Star” and “Zwielicht” here; watch the video (directed by Marvin Kessler and produced by AMP) for both singles HERE

Mental Cruelty comments: “The first song ‘Zwielicht’ (old German for twilight), which serves as the intro, is a poem written by Marvin (guitars) and it’s about the demon called depression that slowly creeps into your body to a point where it takes full control over your life. The poem comes from a very personal place and serves as a way of letting go and processing hard and dark stages of life in the past. Musically, the song is heavily inspired by classic Nordic folk songs and was recorded with ancient instruments that you wouldn’t quite expect in this kind of music. ‘Symphony Of A Dying Star’ serves as the continuation of ‘Zwielicht’ musically as well as lyrically. We accompany a wanderer on his journey through a winter landscape. All life around him seems to be trapped in hibernation and eternal ice while a surreal feeling of deafness creeps up on him. The winter itself serves as a metaphor for loneliness, the end of all things and the transience of life. At some point, all things start to fade away and it is the fate that will overtake us all once when standing on the threshold between life and death. The whole concept of this 2-track song is about letting things go and die to make place for a new start and a new beginning. We couldn’t quite play shows and work on new music as we wanted to the last two years due to the pandemic and having to find a new vocalist, so we wanted to make a cut and a new beginning.”

Across four releases, beginning with 2016’s Pereat Mundus EP, Mental Cruelty has woven together a violent tapestry of black metal, death metal, deathcore, and a madness of their very own. With 2021’s landmark LP, A Hill To Die Upon (Unique Leader), the German quintet not only set a new standard for themselves, but also the genre as a whole.

Rising from the ashes of personal and professional chaos, Mental Cruelty spent the first half of 2022 seeking out a voice to continue to cement them as an uncompromising force in the German metal scene. After locking in Lukas Nicolai, the band (rounded out by guitarists Nahuel Lozano and Marvin Kessler, bassist Viktor Dick and drummer Danny Straßer) reemerged bloodied but unbowed, ready to continue on their path to becoming an international force.

Armed with new vocalist Lukas, Mental Cruelty usher in a new epoch of unlight and grim determination that’s at the heart of their upcoming album – which will be announced soon. Mental Cruelty‘s reign of darkness is just getting started…

German blackened Deathcore combo MENTAL CRUELTY officially announce their signing with Century Media Records. After the band from Karlsruhe already made a name for themselves in the extreme metal scene with their last albums “Purgatorium”, “Inferis” and their recent record “A Hill To Die Upon”, MENTAL CRUELTY now decided to take the next step.

The band comments on their signing: “It’s an honour to join the Century Media family! I’ve been growing up to a lot of CM Bands such as Suicide Silence, Mayhem, Dark Funeral and many more! Now being in a position to realize we are part of that very same Record Label makes me incredibly thankful and proud! I love everyone from CM I’ve met so far and I’m so stoked to see what the future will bring for MC. We are stronger and heavier than ever before and ready to take the next big steps.”

Dennis Moll (A&R Century Media Records) comments: “We are beyond stoked to welcome one of the hottest bands in the Extreme Metal scene to our roster for a worldwide deal. The boys have made an incredible development over the last years and fit into Century Media Records more than perfectly from every point of view. With Jonas as Product Manager and our amazing team we are more than ready to push Mental Cruelty to the next level! Twisting the strangle grip – won’t give no mercy!”

At the same time MENTAL CRUELTY announces the re-release of their debut album “Purgatorium”, which will be released as a remixed and remastered version on April 15th via Century Media Records.

Pre-order here.

German haunting death metallers MENTAL CRUELTY have announced a massive headline tour across Europe, with support from Distant, Paleface, and Crown Magnetar.

The band’s A Hill To Die Upøn European tour is in support of their album of the same name, released 28th May 2021 via Unique Leader.

Dates as follows:

12-Apr-22 Germany Wiesbaden Schlachthof
13-Apr-22 Germany Nürnberg Z-Bau
14-Apr-22 Poland Wroclaw Akademia Club
15-Apr-22 Germany Berlin Cassiopeia
16-Apr-22 Czech Rep. Prague Nova Chmelnice
17-Apr-22 Hungary Budapest Dürer Kert
18-Apr-22 Austria Wien Viper Room
19-Apr-22 Germany München Backstage
20-Apr-22 Switzerland Aarau Kiff
21-Apr-22 Germany Leipzig Naumanns
22-Apr-22 Germany Hamburg Logo
23-Apr-22 Netherlands Den Bosch Willem Twee
24-Apr-22 Germany Oberhausen Kulttempel              
26-Apr-22 UK Southampton Joiners
27-Apr-22 UK Birmingham Mama Roux
28-Apr-22 UK Glasgow Garage Attic
29-Apr-22 UK Manchester Satans Hollow
30-Apr-22 UK Bristol Rough Trade
01-May-22 UK London New Cross Inn            
03-May-22 France Paris Gibus              
05-May-22 Switzerland Geneve Undertown
06-May-22 Belgium Antwerp JC Bouckenborgh
07-May-22 Germany Karlsruhe Die Stadtmitte

Founded in 2016 in Germany, the quintet have established themselves as one of the most exciting bands on the extreme underground, touring Europe with Rings Of Saturn and Nekrogoblikon in 2019 and North America with Signs Of The Swarm and Disentomb. Now with two albums under their belts, including 2019’s critically acclaimed Inferis, produced by Sky Van Hoff (Rammstein, Kreator), they have become well known for their signature blackened breakdowns, blast beats, epic arrangements and slamming brutality.

Order A Hill To Die Upon here:
Digital: https://orcd.co/ahilltodieupon
N. America: https://www.indiemerch.com/uniqueleader​
Europe: https://www.impericon.com/en/unique-leader-records.html