Aural Aggravation

Wounds is the band’s long-awaited fifth album – their first in six years. As heavy as it is haunting, the record masterfully blends doom, post-punk, and driving krautrock in a dynamic, hypnotic maelstrom – pushing London’s most exciting cult band into intoxicating new territory.

“Wounds is a series of songs about the different ways people live with and process ‘the wounds’ of their lives,” explains vocalist Maya. “A strange celebration of that formative pain we have all experienced in some way. The loss and joy of survival – the celebration of finding others like us, the gift of knowing life comes after fire.”

First single ‘Hangman’s Daughter’ leads the charge and is available to stream and download from today. Opening with a hypnotic techno bassline, the song quickly gives way to post-punk guitars, huge choruses, and vocalist Maya’s magnetic storytelling.

“Hangman’s Daughter is an unrequited love song,” says Maya. “A woman was loved but could not love in return so she is drowned by the man who loves her. She is not lost though – she haunts the killer and he can’t escape her. The title hints at the past, but actually this is a very current issue for women today – how to literally survive when they can’t love a man who has decided he only wants her.”

Watch the video now:

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Wounds was recorded by Mike Bew, on location at Foel Studio. The band could be found working deep into the witching hours, experimenting with new sounds and filling the valleys with cantankerous wails of sound, bursting from amps borrowed from My Bloody Valentine.

"The Welsh countryside has a mystical quality to it," says guitarist Adam. "We recorded in a deep, dark valley; misty days and shooting stars at night. You could wander through nearby woods and stone circles during breaks. Foel Studios is woven into this setting with a transcendence of its own – its storied history includes sessions by Electric Wizard, Hawkwind and The Fall."

Synths on the album are arranged by Berlin-based Bow Church, an influential figure in the dark electronic scene and a long time collaborator of the band. His work weaves icy and atmospheric textures into the songs, layering complexity that demands repeat listens. The horns on 12 Crosses were recorded by a high profile jazz musician who appears anonymously due to label ties.

While meticulously crafted, Wounds captures the visceral energy of Cold In Berlin’s renowned live shows. The album’s arrangements and raucous sound remain true to the unrelenting intensity and atmosphere of their stage performances – every track retains the sweat, urgency, and immediacy of a band performing in the moment.

Wounds is the band’s first studio album since 2019’s Rituals Of Surrender, which Narc Magazine praised for its “crushing doom-laden riffs that assaulted the speakers with a steady pulse of noise”. It follows the 2024 EP The Body is The Wound, described by Metal Epidemic as featuring “hooky melodic songs” with a “swelling heavy intensity”.

Featuring free-jazz brass sections, off-beat structures, techno rhythms, and soaring synths, Wounds is the band’s most ambitious release yet.

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Photo: Rupert Hitchcox