NEWS: Distant gaze into… the distance?

Featuring no less than four huge guest vocal appearances in amongst thirteen tracks “Into Despair” has been described as the most personal and emotional work to date from Dutch downtempo Deathcore collective Distant. Exploring real life struggles, loss and the shared grief that connects humanity, the album dives deep into the darker corners of human experience while finding solace in collective understanding. It will be everywhere that’s good on 6th November via Century Media with a music video for “The Shallow Gaze” now online.

The band comment: “When vulnerability becomes a competition, even honesty starts to feel like a weapon. ‘The Shallow Gaze’ featuring Darius Tehrani of Spite dives into the paranoia and self-doubt that come with living through trauma while constantly questioning who can truly be trusted.

The track confronts impostor syndrome and the exhausting need to validate your own suffering in environments where trauma dumping has become a form of one-upmanship. Instead of creating connection, every confession becomes another opportunity to compare scars, measure pain, and prove who has suffered more.

With its confrontational intensity and deeply personal subject matter, ‘The Shallow Gaze’ captures the psychological toll of constantly questioning the intentions of those around you – and the realisation that sometimes, the hardest person to trust is yourself.

Driven by raw honesty and pure emotion, ‘Into Despair’ is an album born from personal battles and lived experiences. Every song carries pieces of each member’s own journey, with moments of pain, reflection, and resilience woven into a deeply intimate body of work. More than just a collection of songs, ‘Into Despair’ is a cathartic expression of vulnerability and a reminder that even in our darkest moments, grief is something we all share. It stands as the band’s most heartfelt and authentic statement yet, transforming personal suffering into something universally resonant.”