BONG-RA premiere "Esoterik"

"Fans of the golden era of Industrial Metal have just gained another classic." (Musique Machine)

Five days before official release, Industrial Metal pioneer Jason Köhnen (THE KILIMANJARO DARKJAZZ ENSEMBLE, THE LOVECRAFT SEXTET) premieres the full stream of "Esoterik", the new album from his primary project BONG-RA, on DMP's YouTube channel. Listen here:

BONG-RA's signature low-frequency weight, cinematic horn arrangements and percussive austerity remain at the core, but on "Esoterik" they are recontextualised, distorted, mechanized and reforged into a denser, more monolithic sound. The result is an album that feels both primal and post-apocalyptic, ritualistic yet modern, symbolic yet physical.

A spiritual successor to 2025's "Black Noise", the record delves deeper into the shadows and luminescence of the occult, expanding the ritualistic atmospheres explored on previous albums "Antediluvian" (2018) and "Meditations" (2022).

Köhnen comments on this fusion:

"I was curious to see the result of the fusion between the styles of the previous albums with the new path taken. Apart from there being a lot of similarities in atmosphere I wanted to be able to also continue the line with the more occult and archaic themes which set a great contrast with the futuristic dystopian atmosphere of (2025 preceding album) "Black Noise". The idea was already born during the creative process of "Black Noise", it was just a matter of patience to put those ideas into fruiting a year or so later."

The title of BONG-RA's new album "Esoterik" hints at the record's conceptual framework, drawing on occult and hermetic traditions. This philosophical dimension is also reflected in the cover artwork, where enigmatic figures evoke a blend of ancient mythological imagery and futuristic, almost extraterrestrial aesthetics.

Köhnen elaborates on the conceptual ideas:

"Hermeticism and Stoicism have been major influential guidelines to life for well over a decade. Hermeticism helps me answer questions to the metaphysical and Stoicism is the guiding moral compass for the physical. "Esoterik" is a wide-ranging accumulation of ideas regarding hidden layers to our existence."

Find all album info here!

"Esoterik" will be released on CD, vinyl — including an exclusive DMP vinyl edition — and digital on March 20th. An exclusive T-shirt design will accompany the release. Pre-orders are available via our EU, US and Bandcamp shops.

March and April sees BONG-RA touring Europe extensively alongside avant-garde Extreme Metal force THY CATAFALQUE. Find all dates below and secure your tickets here.

24.03 – Arena Vienna, Vienna (AT) [FB Event]
25.03 – Mocvara, Zagreb (HR)
26.03 – Legend Club, Milan (IT) [FB Event]
27.03 – Antirouille, Montpellier (FR)
29.03 – D8, Bilbao (ES) [FB Event]
30.03 – Le Ferrailleur, Nantes (FR) [FB Event]
31.03 – Backstage, Paris (FR)
01.04 – L'Autre Canal, Nancy (FR) [FB Event]
02.04 – DB's, Utrecht (NL) [FB Event]
03.04 – Volt, Sittard (NL) [FB Event]
06.04 – From Hell, Erfurt (DE) [FB Event]
07.04 – SO36, Berlin (DE)
08.04 – Voodoo, Warsaw (PL)
09.04 – Zascianek, Krakow (PL)