Across four releases, beginning with 2016’s Pereat Mundus EP, Mental Cruelty has woven together a violent tapestry of black metal, death metal, deathcore, and a madness of their very own. With 2021’s landmark LP, A Hill To Die Upon (Unique Leader), the German quintet not only set a new standard for themselves, but also the genre as a whole.
Rising from the ashes of personal and professional chaos, Mental Cruelty spent the first half of 2021 seeking out a voice to continue to cement them as an uncompromising force in the German metal scene. After locking in Lukas, the band (rounded out by guitarists Nahuel Lozano and Marvin Kessler, bassist Viktor Dick and drummer Danny Straßer) reemerged bloodied but unbowed, ready to continue on their path to becoming an international force.
Armed with new vocalist Lukas Nicolai, Mental Cruelty usher in a new epoch of unlight and grim determination that’s at the heart of their upcoming album, Zwielicht (translated in English as “Twilight”). Once again working with producer and mixer Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Ov Sulfur, Signs of the Swarm The Browning), they’ve pushed their sound to new blacker intensities forged in emotional riffing, heavy “back to the roots” breakdowns, and epic orchestral arrangements that surpass the already elite standards that have become synonymous with their name.
Zwielicht has come. Mental Cruelty’s reign of darkness has begun!
Watch the previously released videos below:
“Zwielicht/Symphony of a Dying Star”: https://youtu.be/rpxyHRIk5vM
“Forgotten Kings”: https://youtu.be/WXJwYl6L73w
“Nordlys”: https://youtu.be/nkt6e3bEDqc
