photo by Maj Music
Sensory Records presents The Constant Void, the intense second album from European progressive metal quintet, PHILOSOPHOBIA.
Uniting past and current members of Kamelot, Paul Di’Anno, Wastefall, and more, PHILOSOPHOBIA was formed in 2020, with its members spread across Europe, in Germany, The Netherlands, and Greece. 2022 saw the release of PHILOSOPHOBIA’s eponymous debut album, which left a huge impact in the international prog metal scene. Numerous journalists gave the album 10/10-rated reviews, as well as Album Of The Month in the French Magazine Rock Hard, multiple Album Of The Year rankings, and more.
PHILOSOPHOBIA now arrives with The Constant Void, which takes the band’s musical vision to the next level. With most of the lineup returning from the first album – guitarist Andreas Ballnus, drummer Alexander Landenburg, vocalist Domenik Papaemmanouil, and keyboardist Tobias Wergerber – the new album sees original bassist Kristoffer Gildenlöw replaced with virtuoso bass player Sebastian Heuckmann, who has been playing live with the band since 2024. With nine magnetizing tracks clocking in at almost sixty-five minutes, The Constant Void is a white-knuckled ride between progressive metal and emotional and melancholic tunes, combining the strength of the debut album with a more modern and heavier twist.
As with the debut, the band returned to Phil Hillen at SU2 Studios in Germany (Powerwolf, Kamelot) who engineered, recorded, mixed, and mastered The Constant Void. The fascinating cover artwork was again handled by Björn Gooßes at Killustrations in close cooperation with PHILOSOPHOBIA mastermind Andreas Ballnus, and photography was handled by MaJ Music. The song “F 40.8” features a guest keyboard solo by Vikram Shankar, and the epic twenty-minute closing track “The Forgotten Part Il” features a spoken word passage by Rob Leland.
On the first album, Man Of Much Metal wrote how the band “put themselves in a very strong position to become one of the most talked about new bands within the progressive metal sphere. And rightly so!” Now, The Constant Void is the band’s proof for this statement; PHILOSOPHOBIA has come to stay in the sphere of progressive metal. Fans of Kamelot, Dream Theater, Pain Of Salvation, Threshold, Control Denied, Pharaoh, and Nevermore should have PHILOSOPHOBIA on their priority list.
The lead single from The Constant Void arrives through a video for “King Of Fools,” directed by the band’s Domenik Papaemmanouil and Andreas Ballnus. Ballnus writes, “Being the opening song on the album, ‘King Of Fools’ can be seen as a musical statement. From the very first second it takes you on a high-speed ride combining everything PHILOSOPHOBIA stands for: the raw power of heavy metal, the filigree of unison guitars and keys, the tight foundation of drums and bass, and a vocal performance from harsh growls to melodic and emotional tunes, while never losing sight of what is the most important: The song itself!”
He continues, “Lyrically, the song deals with observations of human behavior over the past few years. May it be politician’s decisions that are not the will of the people, religious leaders that lead the wrong way, people that spread racism and fascism. Watching people get happy over other peoples’ suffering is just a sad thing to witness. This song is for those people. If you feel addressed by the lyrics, yes, then we exactly meant you. The gap between us humans has become bigger and bigger until it is not even a gap anymore. It has become a void. And this void is a constant one.”
Watch PHILOSOPHOBIA’s video for “King Of Fools” now at THIS LOCATION and stream the song HERE.
The Constant Void will be released July 11th on CD and through all digital services. Find preorders at The Lasers Edge label webshop HERE and Bandcamp – standard audio HERE and the hi-res audio HERE.
Expect a plethora of additional video content and more surrounding the album’s release.
The Constant Void Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. King Of Fools
3. The Forgotten Part I
4. Inside His Room
5. Will You Remember?
6. F 40.8
7. Underneath Grassroots
8. The Fall
9. The Forgotten Part II
PHILOSOPHOBIA:
Domenik Papaemmanouil – vocals
Andreas Ballnus – guitars, keys
Alex Landenburg – drums
Sebastian Heuckmann – bass
Tobias Wergerber – keys
photo by Domenik Papaemmanouil
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