Portland doom quartet, Usnea, have announced the full details for their third full-length album, Portals Into Futility. Inspired by dystopian science-fiction and the painful intersection of today's crushing reality, Portals Into Futility is five songs and 56 minutes of expertly crafted and elegantly depressive doom/sludge. With an evolved sound of strength and dynamism, Usnea delve more into the worlds of dissonant death metal, varied vocal structures and cinematic composition, all while maintaining the monumental heaviness, brutality, discord, anger, and mournful melodicism of their previous work. Across dark and brooding peaks and valleys, Usnea remind us that no matter how many doors are opened to the human species, our self-aggrandizement and hubris all lead to futility.

Portals Into Futility is due out September 8th on CD/2xLP/Digital via Relapse Records. Physical pre-orders and exclusive bundles are currently available via Relapse.com at this location and digital pre-orders are available via Bandcamp here. The new song “Lathe In Heaven” is available for streaming below.

Usnea Commented on the new song: “’Lathe Of Heaven’ was inspired the eponymous book by Ursula K Le Guin. It is a meditation on the blurred line between cognitive reality and delusion wherein the protagonist can change reality through dreaming. A well-intentioned psychologist attempts to corral that power but ends up creating more chaos and suffering. In the end, human arrogance and greed are shown to be the leading contributors to our own doom."

Portals Into Futility tracklisting:

“Eidolons And The Increate”
“Lathe Of Heaven”
“Demon Haunted World”
“Pyrrhic Victory”
“A Crown Of Desolation”

“Lathe Of Heaven”:

Usnea will tour throughout Europe dates this fall as direct support for Ufomammut. The tour commences on September 30th in Paris and ends October 22nd in Munich while hitting 19 different cities. The tour includes appearances at multiple festivals including Up In Smoke, Doornroosje Festival and Keep It Doom. The band will also perform an exclusive US set at Psycho Las Vegas on August 18th. A complete listing of dates is available below.

Tour dates:

August
18 - Las Vegas, NV - Psycho Las Vegas

September (with Ufomammut)
30 - Paris, France - La Boule Noire

October (with Ufomammut)
1 - Nantes, France - Le Ferrailleur
3 - London, UK - Borderline
4 - Brussels, Belgium - Magasin 4
5 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
6 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Up In Smoke
7 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Soulcrusher Festival @ Doornroosje Festival
8 - Bielefed, Germany - Forum
10 - Oslo, Norway - Blitz
11 - Stockholm, Sweden - Klub Undergangen
13 - Helsinki, Finland - Korjaamo Blowup VOL 3
14 - Tampere, Finland - Olympia-Kortelli
16 - Copenhagen, Denmark - KB 18
17 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
18 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
19 - Leipzig, Germany - Werk 2
20 - Wroclaw, Poland - Firley
21 - Prag Checkt, Germany - 007
22 - Munich, Germany - Keep It Doom

(Photo - Orion Landau)