Norway’s goth and industrial metal ministerial band Gothminster has released new album Pandemonium, alongside new single ‘Star’, via AFM Records.
There’s also a new video for the single, that you can check out here at RAMzine, and while the first clips and singles were part of a trilogy about the dark and evil Gothminster kingdom, according to the band’s Bjørn Alexander Brem: “‘Star’ is about how lonely life can be for a rockstar or a celebrity, especially when your career has come to an end.
“Think of a dying star in the horizon and you get the picture. This song is about the loneliness, separation and the feeling of emptiness which also many others might relate to. But hopefully this song also will cheer you up with its punchy guitars and driving beats. And remember, you are not alone, and Gothminister plans to be in the scene for many more years to come! So now just get out on the dancefloor and rock!”
The single is available on all digital platforms here. It follows previously released singles, ‘Demons’, ‘This Is Your Darkness’ and the haunting album title track. Regarding ‘Demons’, Brem commented: “‘Demons‘ has a mixture of some well-known Gothminister elements like heavy guitars, a driving rhythm, growling melodic vocals and even a strange opera-lady singing.
“When I wrote this song, I pictured a weird, dark club, a dancefloor taking off, lots of freaks on it, and the main character in this setting drinking in the bar while being chased by his inner demons – evil creatures litterally coming out of his head.
A trilogy of videos came to a temporary end with Gothminister‘s third music video ‘Demons’, as Brem explained: “In ‘Pandemonium’ we saw the fall of the evil king and his city, and that a new king was born. ‘This Is Your Darkness’ saw Gothminister scouting from his watchtower while the army of dead was searching for new souls to conquer. In ‘Demons’, we go back in time, and discover that also the evil king in ‘Pandemonium’ had a past himself as a normal man where he is challenging the cruel magic of his predecessor. However, you should be careful fighting someone else’s demons – it may awaken your own…”
Regarding the previous single, ‘This Is Your Darkness‘ plays with the deepest primal fears of human beings – persecution, hopelessness and no chance to save oneself. This new album single takes up where the previous one, ‘Pandemonium’ left off, and is intended as a drama in three acts.
You can check out the video for it right here at RAMzine, as you can ‘Pandemonium‘ concerning which, band mastermind Bjørn Alexander Brem revealed: “A lot of the scenes in the music video were recorded in an old gothic church, Jakobs Culture Church, in the city centre of Oslo, Norway. The church was built in 1880 and in 1980 the bishop of Oslo wanted to tear it down. The church was saved and preserved by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, and is now home for rock and metal concerts every weekend.”
“‘Pandemonium‘ is one of the heaviest but also one of the longest songs Gothminister has ever released. We are excited to see what the fans think about this new sound. In a time where TikTok and other social media channels promotes music snippets lasting only a few seconds, we wanted to do the opposite by introducing the new album with a more than 5 and a half minute long opening track.”
With the debut Gothic Electronic Anthems in 2003, Gothminister took the dark music scene by storm, unleashing a thunder of pitch-black magic. Powerful metal riffs march relentlessly arm in arm with huge orchestras and heavenly choirs, while Brem himself revealed his vocal range: from the deepest gothic-dungeons up to the higher spheres of steaming rock. The overwhelming combination of catchiness and darkness; a thrilling craft of composing within the marrow of gothic, industrial-metal and electronica, that became Gothminster‘s trademarks ever since.
With tracks like ‘Devil’ (Gothic Electronic Anthems 2003), ‘Monsters’ (Empire of Dark Salvation 2005), ‘Darkside’ (Happiness In Darkness 2008), ‘Liar’ (Anima Inferna 2011), ‘Utopia’ (Utopia 2013), the last single from the CD/DVD horror movie concept album that even reached the Norwegian Eurovision contest finals, ‘Ich will alles’ and ‘We Are The ones Who Rule The World’ that both entered the Top 10 of the German Alternative charts and brought thousands of fans together on a tour across Germany together with ASP, Gothminister has gotten a significant following all over the world through the years.
With ‘Pandemonium’ it takes us back to the new gothic era around 1880 AC, where we find the city and kingdom of Gothminister under attack from its own inhabitants. The old, mighty and evil king, played by Brem himself, faces chaos and uproar among his own.
The new album is available here and tracks featured on it are: ‘Abgrund (Abyss)’, ‘Pandemonium’, ‘Demons’, ‘Star’, ‘Sinister’, ‘Kingdoms Rise’, ‘Bloodride’, ‘Norge’, ‘Run Faster’, ‘This Is Your Darkness’ and ‘Mastodon’.
