Death/doom unit PULCHRA MORTE — featuring within its ranks current and former members of Wolvhammer, Eulogy, Harkonin, Withered, and more — will release its debut full-length this February via Ceremonial Records. Titled Divina Autem Et Aniles, the ten-track offering was captured by PULCHRA MORTE guitarist/renowned producer/engineer Jarrett Pritchard (1349, Goatwhore, Wolvhammer, Gruesome, Exhumed, Brutality, etc.) at his own New Constellation Studios in Orlando, Florida, mastered by Chris Common (Tribulation, Primordial, Exhumed, Gruesome), and features the vocal talents of former Eulogy co-conspirator Heather Dykstra and cellist Naarah Strokosch as well as additional backing vocals by Tor Stavenes, AKA Seidemann of 1349 and Svart Lotus. It all comes swathed in the striking cover art of Jordan Barlow (Goatwhore, Haarp, Psychon Vex).
Divina Autem Et Aniles carries its listeners back to an era where unabridged heaviness and darkness reigned supreme. Of the record’s weighty themes, vocalist Jason Barron notes, “I was going through an extremely dark time in my personal life. I had the perfect dark cloud for proper inspiration for a ’90s-style doom/death metal band with a name meaning ‘beautiful death:’ Tasting a small portion of bliss and having it taken away forever, severe depression, madness, relationships, complete, and total loss – all the formulæ for life itself. ‘Give No More,’ for example, was the first song I wrote for PULCHRA MORTE. It’s about an individual suffering from major disease, depression, and utter madness, composing his own epitaph, completely accepting his failure, and giving up, happily ending his life. The album is filled with stories of embracing death and the end, and also the new beginnings that death brings.”
Adds Pritchard, “As we move forward, the subject matter will broaden, not only with darkness but in ways, certain levels of empowerment; perhaps the shift where a person goes from being the pawn to the hand. Not by ignoring it, but by embracing what is. We are all interested in a vast number of topics that are applied in everyday life, ranging from Hermetic philosophy to Crowley and Austin Spare, writings by everyone from Israel Regardie to Terence McKenna, traversing dimensional barriers, hallucinogenic communication, ritual Magick, conspiracy… The world is a dark place. There is no shortage of such topics to reflect on all around us.”
Divina Autem Et Aniles will be released on February 1st on CD and digitally via Ceremonial Records and is available for licensing in various territories. For physical preorders visit the official PULCHRA MORTE bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION where first single “Soulstench” can be streamed.
View the band’s previously released video for “Soulstench” below.
Additionally, PULCHRA MORTE’s limited-edition seven-inch single featuring “Soulstench” on Side A and a rendition of Paradise Lost’s “The Painless” on Side B is still available in three color variants HERE.
Divina Autem Et Aniles Track Listing:
1. Give No More
2. Black Ritual
3. Soulstench
4. Ignis Et Tempestas
5. Fire And Storm
6. Thrown To The Wolves
7. Reflection Of A Drowning Sun
8. Shadows From The Cross
9. IX
10. When Legends Die
PULCHRA MORTE (ˈpul.kÊ°ra / ˈmÉ”r.te) began with an idea to recapture a feeling that has become increasingly scarce in the dense landscape of extreme music today: the manifestation of songs containing weight, atmosphere, and feeling. Forged by drummer/backing vocalist Clayton Gore and vocalist Jason Barron, formerly of St. Louis staple Harkonin, with guitarist Jeffrey Breden in 2017, the trio began writing songs with the intention of recapturing the purpose of greats from the late-’80s through early-’90s doom-laden death metal scene, a point where feeling superseded technicality. During this process, Gore contacted long-time friend and cocreator, producer/engineer Jarrett Pritchard (1349, Goatwhore, Wolvhammer, Gruesome, Exhumed, etc.), the two of them enjoying a thirty-year friendship and collaboration from the days of the seminal Tampa, Florida-based death metal band Eulogy.
Joining forces, the band completed the recording of their debut album Divina Autem Et Aniles with Pritchard taking on bass and auxiliary guitar duties as well as producing and engineering the album. Full rehearsals took place in Chicago over the summer of 2018, with Dylan Kilgore of Withered being recruited to play bass while Pritchard moved to full-time guitar. Band intact, the rehearsals yielded excellent results, and from these sessions a proper video for first single “Soulstench” was generated. In its wake, PULCHRA MORTE unleashed a limited edition seven-inch of “Soulstench” with a beautiful tribute to Paradise Lost — a cover of Gothic classic “The Painless” — occupying its B-side as an exclusive.
PULCHRA MORTE is planning a number of appearances throughout 2019 in support of Divina Autem Et Aniles and are already hard at work on the follow-up album.
PULCHRA MORTE:
Jeffrey Breden – guitars
Jarrett Pritchard – guitars
Jason Barron – vocals
Clayton Gore – drums/backing vocals
Dylan Kilgore – bass/backing vocals
http://PulchraMorte.com
http://www.facebook.com/PulchraMorte
http://www.instagram.com/PulchraMorteMetal
http://www.facebook.com/CEREMONIALRECORDS/