LYCHGATE premiere 'Renunciation'

"Rise, the chainless!
For they whose sight was not relinquished
Rise, the insurgents!
Contrary to the spirit of the age
For we dare to see the stars
as our ancestors did." ('Renunciation')

On December 19th, LYCHGATE will unveil their meticulously crafted fourth album, "Precipice". In anticipation, the UK avant–Black/Death Metal ensemble now presents a second preview track, 'Renunciation.' Steeped in oppressive grandeur and apocalyptic fervour, the piece evokes a profound spiritual unease and piercing, cerebral intensity.

Listen here and via our YouTube channel:

Interweaving literary, philosophical, and cinematic influences, "Precipice" is conceptually based on E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" (1909) - a story of humanity's underground existence and total dependence on a god-like machine - and also draws from Plato's 'allegory of the cave', H. G. Wells' "A Story of the Days to Come", and T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land."

Main composer Vortigern reflects on the lyrical conception of 'Renunciation' and its significance to the album's overarching thematics:

"'Renunciation' refers to the longing of the novella's main character, Kuno, to escape the underground prison of hexagonal cells, his musings on the open landscapes as they were in times before, and his awareness that such landscapes now consist of exiles, who have been expelled from the machine. 'Renunciation' precedes the track 'The Meeting of Orion and Scorpio' in the album's track-listing, in which he does escape, but is captured by a giant worm, which pulls him down below again. The succeeding track is therefore a direct link to the cover art, in which a snake is depicted, illustrating essentially the same meaning."

Find all album info here and listen to the first single – 'Hive of Parasites' – directly below:

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"Precipice" will be released on CD, vinyl - including an exclusive DMP variant - and digital on December 19th. A special t-shirt design will accompany the launch. Pre-orders are possible via our EU, US and Bandcamp shops.