Seductive Stoner Rock Outfit Abrahma Tease New Album Addressing Mental Health

May 7, 2019

abrahma

…

While black metal has cornered the market on discussions of mental distress in heavy music, depression knows no bounds and therefore no genre. On their upcoming album In Time for the Last Rays of Light, Abrahma provide accounts of the dark condition through eight seductive installments. Carrying on the momentum of Parisian hard rock, the troupe serves up clean singing that has never felt cooler while the heat of psychedelic riffs details a long journey with no seeming end. Vintage vibes with a menacing edge provide a refreshing backdrop for a tale as old as time — after an immense struggle, you finally make it out of bed and into the world right as daylight starts to wane.

In addition to overcoming mental health challenges, Abrahma has ridden out great adversity as a band. It the three years since the release of their last full-length Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird, the choppy seas of lineup changes have dictated much of their path. Yet, this journey has gotten them to where they are today as their latest offering is awaited. With In Time for the Last Rays of Light‘s crushing wave of an opener “Lost.Forever.,” the sense of carrying the weight on weathered shoulders is overwhelming. Crooning guitar and a slow and steady tempo prove that it does not take a wall of rhythm guitar to produce a sound that is decadently oppressive. The hypnotic qualities captured in each of the meaty, meandering tracks personify the long, languid periods that mood disorders tend to induce. The overall tone is not markedly depressive, but rather honest and candid, indicating that this is a battle to be won instead of one to be lost in.

Nevertheless, Abrahma notes that this is not always an easy road, stating:

The “Eclipse of the Sane” ideology is dealing with another side of Depression. The feeling of being disconnected from everyday life. This sensation of being alone and rejected, even if you have family, friends. It’s like no one understands you and you have a different language from other people. And the more you try [to] socialize, the more you lose. Then begins self-destruction, where all sanity slowly disappears and gives way to some really dark thoughts, which will sometimes give you the need to end it all, and join your ghosts.

This song is also about the “alcoholic” side of it. You know that the “magic potion” will kill you, but this is the only one you can easily buy to rearrange your mind… Like a suicide helped by the bottle… The narrator is jailed in his suffering and sings his last requiem to his family and friends.

In addition to providing the solace of understanding for listeners struggling with depression, Abrahma intends to donate a portion of merch sales from their next tour to mental health causes. While darkness tends to spoil what little light is being cast over the horizon, solidarity can help override those pesky voices insisting that you are all alone.

“Eclipse of the Sane Pt. 2: Fiddler of the Bottle,” the third song on the new album, is streaming exclusively below.

…