San Francisco blackened heavy metal band CORMORANT are currently gearing up for the release of their upcoming album Dwellings, but in the meantime, have come up with a special way to thank all the fans who have supported them for so long and made their dreams a reality.

The band's last two releases, 2009's Metazoa and 2007's The Last Tree EP, are now available for free download from Cormorant's Bandcamp page.

Cormorant will release their new album, Dwellings, on December 6th.

The album track 'Junta' is streaming online at this location, along with vocalist/bassist/lyricist Arthur von Nagel's thoughts on the meaning of the song's lyrics.

Cormorant is offering limited special edition pre-order bundles for the new full-length album, which include a signed poster of the artwork and never-before released demos and jams. In addition, pre-order buyers will be thanked by name in the Dwellings CD booklet. Both the album art and the pre-order bundles can be viewed from the band’s online merch store at this location.

The Dwellings cover was created by British artist Alice Duke, based on a design concept by the band.

Arthur von Nagel: ”We discovered Alice’s work through her website and recognized that she was exploring some of the same mythological and dreamlike themes through her art as we were in our music. We approached her with an ambitious tower concept and she went so far beyond what we could have ever imagined. The sheer amount of detail and craft Alice put into the piece is straight out of a Pieter Bruegel or Hieronymus Bosch painting. We couldn't be more pleased with the results!”

The album art will be printed vertically across a six-panel matte-finish digipak containing a lush booklet of lyrics and liner notes. Check out the artwork below:

Dwellings tracklisting:

'The First Man'

'Funambulist'

'Confusion Of Tongues'

'Junta'

'The Purest Land'

'A Howling Dust'

'Unearthly Dreamings'

Regarding the pre-order bundles, von Nagel added: “We’ve always operated as an independent band. Since we depend completely on our fans for our funding, in a sense they serve as our record label. As such, the fans investing early in our music will be credited by name in the album’s booklet to thank them for their continued support.”

Von Nagel elaborated on this theme of fan involvement: “We wanted our long-time listeners to feel invested in our creative process, so we’re including two rare digital collections with this pre-order: a seldom-heard selection of ultra-raw 2007 demos when we first began crafting our sound, and a compilation of never-before-released improvisational jams demonstrating a broad swathe of styles and influences. These unfiltered recordings offer a look into our writing process at its most elemental stages.”

Also included in all pre-orders are a poster of the full album artwork signed by the band members, and stickers of the Dwellings cover and logo. Other combo packages include a t-shirt, a zip-up hoodie, or both at once.

Cormorant formed in 2007 as a trio consisting of guitarist Nick Cohon, drummer Brennan Kunkel and vocalist/bassist Arthur von Nagel, recording a 3-song demo and their The Last Tree EP that very same year.

With the addition of seasoned six-stringer Matt Solis in 2008, the band dove into the writing and recording of their full-length debut Metazoa, tracked and mixed by legendary producer Billy Anderson (EYEHATEGOD, MELVINS, MR. BUNGLE, NEUROSIS PRIMORDIAL, SLEEP). The album launched to overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning them a string of successful shows alongside the likes of JELLO BIAFRA AND THE GUANTANAMO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, PRIMORDIAL, GIANT SQUID, MOONSORROW, WOE, VELNIAS, GRAYCEON, WITHERED, BLACK COBRA, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, SUIDAKRA, WOODS OF YPRES, HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE, HELMS ALEE and SLOUGH FEG.

With the imminent release of their new album Dwellings, Cormorant are poised to continue their rise as one of the most exciting and original independent bands in metal.

A video of the band playing a new instrumental track from Dwellings, live at The Hemlock on July 2010, can be seen below: