Good things take time - more so if you want to create something timeless. This undoubtedly applies to German black/death metallers, Painful. After an extended period of tinkering, the band, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, have announced the release date of their upcoming album Nefarious Monarchy - May 25.

The somber foursome have now come up with something special for their fans: On February 9 (Osnabrück, Bastard Club) and February 10 (Oberhausen, Helvete), the entire album will be performed live by the band for the first time as part of two "sneak pre-listening" shows, revealing the complete tracklisting on stage. A Nefarious Monarchy shirt, limited to 300 pieces, will also be available at the shows.

Anyone who is curious can now get an impression of what the ever evolving Painful - including their new singer Latura - will stand for in 2024 with the brand new video single, "Liberty (Dies)". A video for the track can be found below.

The song is the fastest track on Nefarious Monarchy, drawing heavily from the band's black metal roots, both musically and in terms of its lyrical content. Embedded in the dark - and also human - abysses of the French Revolution, "Liberty (Dies)" is the direct follow-up to the opener of the concept album and describes the crippling omnipotence of the church, of which Voltaire and other contemporaries tried to warn the royally ruled people in various ways. With the fury of a shackled animal, the song contributes to the backdrop that would later implode in blood and fire, giving way to a new age of enlightenment and grassroots power.

The band thus resolutely pursues its path, completely dispensing with (anti-)religiosity and fantasies, searching for the horrifying in the history of mankind and dragging it into the light under an incantatory mosh: from the Black Plague (Imagines Pestis) to the decade-long cultural firestorm at the end of the 18th century, to which we owe our liberal democracy.

Nefarious Monarchy will be available everywhere from May 25 and is now up for pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"A World Of Kings"
"Liberty (Dies)"
"Growing Rage"
"Reign Of Terror"
"History Repeats"
"United In Blood"
"Heart Of Darkness"
"We Are Not Equal"
"Remaining Shadows"
"Fallen Hierarchies"

"Liberty (Dies)" video:

Ever since its formation in 2004 as a grimy-brutal bastard of black and death metal, the band has stood for raw, bloody pain, true to its own name. However, they soon began to turn the melancholy of the abyss into something entirely of their own, leading to the creation of powerful symphonies, which have earned Painful a steadily growing fan base at countless gigs – including performances with acts such as Belphegor, Behemoth, Atrocity and Amon Amarth, as well as many of their own headlining shows.
Three albums later, and with their fourth already in the oven, they have successfully crossed iconic festivals such as MetalDays, Metalfest and even the 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise off their checklist. So it's no surprise that genre legend Alexander Krull took notice and produced a Painful album for the second time in a row.