CARNIFEX + DESPISED ICON • DEATH DOMINION EU 2026

Nourished by nightmares and the throbbing pulse of pragmatic terror, CARNIFEX are back with their ninth studio album "Necromanteum", out this fall via Nuclear Blast Records.

The cover artwork glows in an emerald and lavender mist; a ghostly energy bursting forth from the depths of a graveyard. Designed by renowned comic artist E.M. Gist, this gateway represents the questions we ask ourselves about what lies on the other side of reality.

Decades ago, wealthy intellectuals began installing so-called psychomanteums in their homes: a secret room completely lined with mirrors - or containing a single mirror - and located in complete darkness to speak with the dead in other dimensions and gain their knowledge. Often this was used as a tool for healing, to dissolve grief, or considered a form of prophecy.
Necromanteum picks up on this concept and asks the question: what if you could use such a space to speak with death itself? What secrets of the world could be learned from a direct conversation with the Grim Reaper? Not as a monster, but as an equal intellect.

The title track "Necromanteum" picks up on these existential themes - for example: What if it's just a journey with no return? No matter how safe we feel, no one can really know the truth. As you would expect from classic death metal and deathcore, Necromanteum 's sound is heavily characterized by riffs.

There's also "fresh blood" on this album - both in the sense of a continued progressive approach and the new permanent addition of guitarist and songwriter Neal Tiemann as a full-time member.

After over 18 years of band history, CARNIFEX continue to experiment with new song structures and add a unique atmosphere to their deathcore base. During the recording process, these orchestral elements were brought to life by film composer Spencer Creaghan.v