Norwegian pioneers in blackened death metal, FESTER have revealed the cover art and tracklisting for their forthcoming new album, A Celebration Of Death. The band's first offering of new material in 17 years, A Celebration Of Death will be out in early 2012 through Abyss Records. The cover was painted by artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SODOM, ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS), The core members of the band, bassist Jon Bakker (Kampfar), vocalist Thomas Andersen and guitarist/vocalist Bjørn "Tiger" Mathisen, all made the following comments regarding the album:

Jon Bakker: "A Celebration Of Death is a whirl of flavours hitting you all at once. All the varieties makes you spin the tracks over and over again. A real treat for the fans of black, death and doom. The mix of musicians makes everything really original, but all in all Fester reeks through it all."

Thomas Andresen: "For me personally, A Celebration of Death has the ultimate lyrics evolving the theme of death, and it manages to pull all my aggression just to the edge, without turning over."

Bjørn "Tiger" Mathisen: "Have you ever felt the sensation of darkness and death embracing you, and that you actually welcome it? Like love, death comes in all different shapes and sizes, and I really feel that we have captured our feelings around the theme. It's darker and more melancholic than our previous releases, but it's FESTER no doubt!"

The lead-off track from A Celebration Of Death called 'Rites Of Ceres' is currently streaming online at BraveWords.com - head to the left-hand-side of the site to launch the KnuckleTracks Online Audio Player.

A Celebration Of Death tracklisting:

'Rites Of Ceres'

'The Black Tower'

'March Of Death'

'I'll Hunt You Down'

'Metalized'

'Jeg Spytter På Deg'

'Last Day Of Battle Pt.I'

'Last Day Of Battle Pt.II'

'A Face For A Funeral' (Bonus)

'Rites Of Mortiis' (Remix Of Ceres By MORTIIS)

In addition to Bakker, Andersen Mathisen, A Celebration Of Death also features Audun Kleive (session drums), Raymond Pellicer (additional guitars, programming and synth), Eivind Aarseth (additional guitars), Guido Saint Roch (guest vocals on 'Metalized') and Mortiis (Dark Converter). For more on Fester, visit the band's Facebook page.