single cover art by Vo1dgazer
"When the night truly becomes your friend,
you have nothing else to fear but yourself." - Nightborn
VIEWER WARNING!
Discretion is Advised as the Video Features REAL Blood, Skulls, Bones,
Body Modification, Actual Hanging by Hooks and Suspension
Courtesy of Video Director/Infamous Dark Performance Artist Louis Fleischauer
Watch "Grave Madness" Exclusively at Metal Injection here:
Nightborn explains, "'Grave Madness' is about the darkness in people's hearts and how they deal with their demons, as well as thoughts of death and the grave. The song conceptually takes these darker thoughts to an extreme level and explores someone going mad from their obsession with death and the grave."
For the recording of "Grave Madness" and the Unhuman album, Arda used an extremely rare guitar that once belonged to the legendary Gary Holt. There are only two of these guitars in existence. One is still with Gary, and the other now belongs to Arda. This guitar was highly influential in the creation of Nightborn’s latest album, Unhuman.
Due to COVID restrictions, it was extremely difficult to get together with bandmates or rehearse, so Arda ended up recording everything at home and arranging/editing all the songs by himself. Krimh of Septic Flesh graciously agreed to play and record the drum parts for the album. Fascination Street Studios in Sweden mixed and mastered the record.
For the video, the dark performance artist, visualizer and director Louis Fleischauer of Berlin collaborated with Nightborn. He never uses any fake bones, skulls or blood in any of his work, so everything you see in the video is real! The very controversial hanging of the actress at the final part of the video - by meat hooks - is also completely real. The video attempts to capture an occult ritual of the dead and conveys many symbols. The three demons that emerge from the dying person reflect different characters within someone as well as a form of ominous trinity, and the hanging soul that is ripped out of the body symbolizes the suffering of the soul. The soul being female and the body being male symbolizes duality – a concept also depicted in different representations of the Baphomet. The soul being hanged symbolizes the pain and pleasures of the flesh and the purification from the carnal shell as one transcends from their mortal self to the darkness of the grave, leaving everything behind. It's a form of ascension but there is nothing peaceful or heavenly about it. There is a release, but at the same time, a movement towards pain, blackness and eternal sleep - nothingness. The video seeks to reflect upon the darkness within someone at the moment of dying, which emerges, spreads and is faced. The heart drenched in black symbolizes that inner darkness or blackness, which eventually consumes the body until it disappears.
Louis refused to use an actor for the dying man, and specifically wanted Arda to play it. He believed that it would be important to showcase the real emotions to be showcased from the creator of the song and the art, as he went through the ceremony with earth and stones, to capture the feelings of drowning, death masking, embalming and drowning.
Nightborn will be releasing 3 videos in total from the Unhuman album this Summer, to familiarize and acquaint the listeners with their unique sound. The aim is to prepare the audiences for the September release of their upcoming EP titled "Hammer of the Heretic" featuring all brand new material. The EP will be featuring Simon McKay (Agonist) on drums, Hubert Wiecek (Ex-Decapitated, Dieth) on the bass and producer Pavel Daniels will be on the edits, mixing and mastering duties.
"Grave Madness"
Madness of grave
Feeds into the brain
Refuge for lost souls that have nothing left to save
Waves churn and roar
Seeping through the floor
Ever faster to reach nevermore
Void's left its mark
Where light was stark
Diving to the abyss while last hope departs
Maker's alone
Emperor's dethroned
End my existence, soon to be told
A desert lies beyond the glass
Window into aching lives
Morbid thoughts befriend me
Unites us in misery
Nothingness awaits beyond
Freezing time, lost aeons
Those who've left before
Wherever you are, I'll be too
Can't contain the blackness within
Unending wish to leave..
this world behind..
To reach the eternal sleep of mine
Wiping all
That I once had
Harvesters are here to slash the threads
Holding on
With hopeless plight
Mortals die in immortal hands
Nothingness awaits beyond
Freezing time, lost aeons
Those who've left before
Wherever you are, I'll be too
Can't contain..the blackness within
Thoughts of grave..are driving you insane
The sleep..patiently awaits
No one will remember you
You are lost in shadows hold
Never to return
from the album Unhuman
- get it here: https://nightborn-official.bandcamp.com/album/unhuman
About NIGHTBORN:
NIGTHBORN is a thrash metal band formed in 2012 by Arda K., initially starting as a one-man project, although some compositions date back even further. Nightborn focuses on producing melodic thrash metal in the vein of old-school sound blended with the style of the revival scene.
Nightborn’s first album, Skyless, was released in 2017 and was mastered at Fascination Street Studios, in Sweden, which has previously worked with artists such as Kreator, Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, and Sepultura. The album cover art was created by Eliran Kantor, with singles artwork were by Maximillan Mende.
Nightborn’s lyrics often deal with politically anti-system sentiments, the allure of dying and death, somberness, desperation, hatred and rage, serial killers and murder, the dark nature of the human mind, nightmares, and the night itself.
The band’s second album, Unhuman, was released in 2022 and was also mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studios. The album consists of fast, unrelenting thrash metal for the fans of great bands such as Slayer, Testament, Kreator, Sepultura and Exodus, with additional dark melodic elements. Just like Skyless, all lyrics and music were arranged, written, composed and performed by the frontman Arda K. All the drum parts on Unhuman were performed by Krimh of Septic Flesh, Decapitated, and Behemoth. Additional guitar edits were carried out by Gokalp Ergen, the vocalist of Mezarkabul.
After the 2022 release of Unhuman, Nightborn started preparing for live performances and touring by expanding the band's lineup with veteran metal musicians, all of whom have been active in the metal scene since the early 2000s. The band recently shared the stage with German thrashers Traitor in Istanbul.
NIGHTBORN is:
Arda K. – Vocals & Guitars
Ege B. – Guitars
Ata A. - Bass
Serkan B. – Drums
NIGHTBORN online:
Official Site: www.nightbornofficial.com
tiktok: @nightborn.official
MUSIC:
Bandcamp: https://nightborn-official.bandcamp.com/
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/unhuman/1646723467
Amazon Music: https://listen.tidal.com/album/248669106
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