PRESS RELEASE:
Avant-garde Cinematic Doom outfit, Liminal Spirit, returns with new album, Forfeiture Hymns, on November 6, unveiling the next chapter in the project's ever-expanding conceptual mythology.
"This is a continuation and recontextualizing of the story from the previous album Unwell," explains multi-instrumentalist/composer, Jerry Hauppa (Northless, Ara, Deorbit). "Each song tells the story of an individual character's demise based on proximity to the main character of that album, told musically in highly unorthodox and extreme ways."
The project combines the melodic sensibilities developed through years in extreme metal with a microtonal guitar blended with a cinematic doom, industrial, and drone-driven framework.
"I wanted to do a project that utilized my sense of melody established through various extreme metal outlets but through the lens of a more doom/industrial/drone approach to create music that felt like it was exposing a kind of purgatory, with each song guiding the listener through that purgatory into a place more grounded by the end," says Hauppa.
This fourth studio recording and second full-length, Forfeiture Hymns represents Liminal Spirit's most ambitious and extreme work to date. While previous releases explored hypnotic drone-based environments, the new album pushes further into a musical language informed by death metal, industrial music, electronic textures, and psychologically charged storytelling.
At the center of Forfeiture Hymns is the continuation of the narrative introduced on the acclaimed previous album, Unwell. While Unwell chronicled the final days of the troubled character Phillip Hastings within the confines of a nursing home, the new album broadens the scope dramatically by tracing his life from birth onward.
Rather than focusing directly on Phillip himself, Forfeiture Hymns tells its story through the perspectives of individuals whose lives have been irrevocably altered by him. Each song documents a different character driven toward suicide following encounters with Phillip, creating a sprawling concept album that examines influence, guilt, abuse, obsession, and the devastating ripple effects of human actions.
"Each track is the story of one of those people and how his influence steered them toward ending their lives. To flesh out the record, I had to create all of these people and develop their motivations, which I then used to create the melodic characteristics of each song," adds Hauppa.
Designed as a challenging and immersive listening experience, Forfeiture Hymns is intentionally confrontational while remaining deeply melodic and memorable. Every composition serves the story, with musical motifs recurring throughout the album and connecting not only individual songs but also previous Liminal Spirit releases.
With Forfeiture Hymns, Liminal Spirit continues to blur the boundaries between concept album, psychological horror, and extreme music, delivering a challenging yet immersive work that rewards repeated exploration. "My hope is that this record resonates with people," says Hauppa. It is the most extreme demonstration of the style so far, but it's also the most memorable."
Doomed & Stoned has premiered "The Initiate," the album's first single! The track follows Tommy Pearson, a young boy desperate to join a group of children led by Phillip. What begins as a seemingly innocent initiation ritual spirals into tragedy, mirrored musically through a progression that moves from playful, childlike melodies into frantic and increasingly chaotic territory.
"The track plays out to depict a playful nature that reflects a children’s playground, but builds to a frantic pace as Tommy is desperate for aid with his wounds and approval of the rest of the club," notes Hauppa.
Stream "The Initiate" at: doomedandstoned.com/post/829279040085049344/liminalspirit
FFO: Confessor, Godflesh, Anata, Nine Inch Nails, Morbid Angel
Pre-order Forfeiture Hymns: liminalspirit.bandcamp.com
Track Listing:
1. A Mother’s Instinct (Catherine Hastings, d. 9/24/1937)
2. Unwanted (Phillip Hastings Sr., d. 6/12/1938)
3. The Initiate (Tommy Pearson, d. 3/03/1951)
4. Three (Marianne Tierney, d. 4/19/1953)
5. Apoptosis (Elizabeth and Christopher Collins, d. 11/20/1963)
6. Ensnarer’s Lament (Detective Michael Thornton, 6/01/1978)
7. Two (Francine Hastings, d. 10/24/1981)
8. Do No Harm (Alice Weaver, 2/17/2015)
9. Sins of the Father (Johnathon Hastings, d. 2/20/2015)
10. The Parting Glass (Madeline Hastings-Everett, d. 12/5/2025)
11. Four (Constance Greene, b. 8/28/2026)
Credits:
All songs performed by: Jerry Hauppa.
All songs written by: Jerry Hauppa.
Produced by: Jerry Hauppa.
Mixed by: Jerry Hauppa.
Mastered by: Jeff Wojtysiak.
Album Artwork by: James Becker.
Liminal Spirit is:
Jerry Hauppa - Kite guitar, fretless guitar, synth, vocoder, sampling, drum programming
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