It’s fascinating to see how the COVID-19 pandemic is still echoing across music. Every other album is seemingly resurrected from pre-shutdown writing and/or recording sessions, bands are rebuilding or transforming into entirely new projects, and many musicians are exploring new genres or influences after isolation pushed them to explore new sonic realms.
Swedish death metallurgists After Earth, fortunately, are emerging as a success story from the chaos and heartbreak of early pandemic days. With their debut EP released in 2020, the band quickly went through a series of lineup changes and fell silent. Gradually, the group solidified enough to release their first full-length in 2023 and begin touring with what would eventually become their long-term lineup. Today, they’re revealing a first look at their upcoming album, Dark Night of the Soul, an epic adventure filled with addictive songwriting and ambitious execution.
The heart of After Earth’s sound is pure Gothenburg groove enriched with symphonic flourishes that make “Dark Night of the Soul” feel like a head-banging gallop through the forest. Cinematic chants erupt into hefty buzzsaw guitars, anchoring a fantastical atmosphere with heavy energy. Even as the track is building momentum, you can’t help being drawn into After Earth’s quest. Each verse unfolds like a chapter of an especially good fantasy novel, enveloping you in story without revealing the excitement to come.
As “Dark Night of the Soul” continues its pummeling march, the pace quickens, unveiling staccato shouts and bruising riffs that add layers of urgency. Even without the video, After Earth builds such a compelling vision that images of lush forests, shrouded castles, and magical creatures erupt in the mind’s eye. Equal parts epic adventure and satisfying Swedish death metal, “Dark Night of the Soul” is the perfect listen for Gothenburg fans and fantasy nerds alike.
Dark Night of the Soul will be released on September 26, 2025. Follow After Earth on Bandcamp for updates and pre-orders.
“Dark Night of the Soul” Lyrics
Been far too long in the trenches
Treading mires of rancid decay
An unfortunate soul
Forever stuck in a hole
Surrounded by self-made dismay
But in the somberest of hours
The crescent moon with radiant might
Has shined its light
Upon the man and his blight
Dismembering all the pain he holds
Rewrite my epilogue
Obliterate what does not serve
Infiltrate the deep emotions that silenced
Me
Rise above the putrid fog
To breathe the air that I deserve
My old self will be lost to
The dark night of the soul
The storm of thoughts created by mirrors
Malignant words conceived as truth
A rusty blade in my chest
Drawn out to conquer the pest
And see the blood spew from its throat
I wished
For me
To see what others see
But leashed
It seems
The demon still can speak clearly
When will you realize the beast that you have fed
Could feast away at all the dread inside your head?
A perfect ambush executed in the squall
The everlasting malediction has no power come nightfall
Rewrote my epilogue
Obliterated every nerve
Of the one dire infestation that silenced
Me
I put an end to dog-eat-dog
And my demons in preserve
They can't equally afflict me after
The dark night of the soul