NEWS: Mental Cruelty embrace the raven!

Produced, mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, Opeth) a new studio album from German Extreme Metal outfit Mental Cruelty is on the horizon with a 23rd October release date confirmed by Century Media. Titled “Echoes of a Forlorn Land” it continues their journey into Norse Mythology with “Raise The Raven Banner” a third single. Originally a force of Deathcore the band have transcended into a world where Blackened Death Metal collides with Black, Folk and Power Metal with cinematic elements as they push the envelope.

The band comment: “’Raise the Raven Banner‘ feels like the perfect song to announce our new era, Echoes of a Forlorn Land. The flag referenced in the title was once flown in battle as a symbol of Odin, the Raven Banner was believed to bring victory and the strength of the Norse Allfather and God of war. Now, we‘re raising our own. With Echoes of a Forlorn Land, we embrace a darker, heavier sound, blending black metal, folk metal, and melodic death metal with our deathcore foundation. It‘s our declaration of evolution: a new chapter forged to stand tall in a scene filled with exceptional bands.

Since we‘re writing about Odin, Loki, Thor and their kin, we figured we better get some Scandinavians on board. Enter our Swedish friend Jens Bogren who mixed and mastered the album to great impact. The same goes for the video for “Raise the Raven Banner.” We hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to visuals, making sure they match and elevate the music. We travelled to Estonia to work with our boys at Riivata Visuals from Finland, whose impressive portfolio also includes videos for our labelmates Orbit Culture, Humanity‘s Last Breath, Allt, and Insomnium.”