AGATHODAIMON To Release 'In Darkness' In June

German dark metal quintet AGATHODAIMON entered Kohlekeller Studios in February with producer Kristian "Kohle" Kohlmannslehner to begin recording its new album, "In Darkness", for a June 28 release via Massacre Records. The follow-up to 2009's "Phoenix" will feature cover artwork by Hicham Haddaji of Strychneen Studio.

Commented AGATHODAIMON guitarist and vocalist Sathonys: "We're sure 'In Darkness' has a lot of killer songs, and we did step into the right direction — though it's also a step backwards. Back to the roots, to be clear.

"We collectively felt that 'Phoenix' reached a point that's as far as we can go, without denying our roots. So we summoned the spirit of the old times (of course without trying to pretend it's 1995).

"We've put focus on the atmosphere and got rid of elements which did not fit to our vision.

"To summarize, I'd say it's less technical, but more dense, coming rather from the heart than our heads. This sounds strange maybe, but you'll get it once you'll hear the first songs.

"Speaking of new songs, 'In Darkness' also features 'old' material, back from when our Romanian vocalist Vlad was still around. But don't worry, it's a history lesson that won't sound outdated. Actually, there's a re-recording of 'Dusk Of An Infinite Shade', something we actually worked on many years ago, but back then skipped the idea because it didn't seem to match with the other material. It simply did not sound right. But now, it turned out that it was a great preparation to get in the mood and to set the sails to embark on a journey... 'In Darkness'."