German epic pagan metal duo ASH OF ASHES will release their third full-length album, All Must Wither, on October 30, 2026. The first single, the band's namesake track "Ash Of Ashes", arrived with a music video on September 29.
The project of Skaldir (music, vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass) and Morten (lyrics, vocals) debuted in 2018 with Down The White Waters and followed it with Traces in 2022. The new record stays on the same path: sweeping melodies and grandeur set against fragile, colder passages and a deliberate streak of roughness, with lyrics rooted in mythology, life and death. Fans of WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, MOONSORROW and EREB ALTOR are the target audience here, and the BATHORY lineage is never far away.
Skaldir says the song was picked as the opener of the campaign because it drops the listener straight into the action from its first notes. Musically it drives forward with a balance of melody and riffing, while the lyrics deal with Ragnarök, and he expects longtime fans to connect with it immediately.
The album runs 43 minutes over seven tracks and closes with the 17-minute epic "The Chronicler". Guest musicians include Simon Bihlmayer, who plays guitar solos on three tracks, and drummer Dennis Strillinger. Skaldir, under his real name Markus Skroch, recorded, mixed and mastered the record at Kalthallen Studios.
All Must Wither tracklist:
- The Great Deceiver
- My Old Friend
- King Of The Fallen
- The River
- All Must Wither
- Ash Of Ashes
- The Chronicler
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