Metal Wani's Owais 'Vitek' Nabi (alongside help from Achintya Venkatesh for the entire line of questioning) had the opportunity to interview TRIPTYKON drummer Norman Lonhard on a variety of topics, including the nature of the imminent album Melana Chesmata, his drumming style, preferences, gear setup, his side projects and the prospects of touring places apart from Europe and North America, among other topics.

Listen below:

Triptykon, the occult/avant-garde metal project formed by former HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST singer, guitarist, and main songwriter Tom Gabriel Warrior after his exit from Celtic Frost in 2008, will release their second album, titled Melana Chasmata, on April 14th (Europe) and April 15th (North America)., via a collaboration between the group's own label, Prowling Death Records Ltd., and Century Media Records.

Triptykon and Century Media Records/Prowling Death Records have announced a special limited edition box set of Melana Chasmata, containing the album's main Mediabook CD edition as well as a selection of unique Triptykon paraphernalia. The Melana Chasmata Mediabook features a 32-page booklet and an additional 12-panel fold-out cross-booklet; the paraphernalia comprises a silver Triptykon-"T" necklace, 2 specially manufactured Triptykon candles, a Triptykon tote bag, a poster, and 3 postcards. The box set will be limited to 2,000 copies worldwide.

Tom Gabriel Warrior: "Some time ago, I voiced my personal disapproval regarding the original concept for the planned Triptykon Melana Chasmata box set as scheduled for release by our licensing partner, Century Media Records. It is to Century Media Records' credit that they listened and subsequently approached me to address my misgivings and create a box set that represents the group's ideas and intentions far more comprehensively. I am grateful for such an open and creative collaboration, and I deeply respect Century Media Records for sparing neither effort nor expenditure to please Triptykon and the band's audience. I wish record labels would have acted like this in the 1980s."

To commemorate the unveiling of Melana Chasmata, Century Media has released a collector's gatefold 7" vinyl single, featuring the album songs 'Breathing' and 'Boleskine House'. The 'Breathing' single will contain an approximate playing time of 13 minutes and its cover artwork can be seen below.

The single is limited to a pressing of 1000 units (800 copies in black vinyl and 200 copies in transparent red vinyl). Order the 7” from CM Distro at this location.

'Breathing' and 'Boleskine House' are streaming below:

'Breathing':

'Boleskine House':

A release / listening party for Melana Chasmata has been scheduled for Friday, April 11th at 10 PM, at Duff's Brooklyn in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. More info on the event flyer below:

Like its predecessor Eparistera Daimones, the album was produced by Triptykon's singer/guitarist Tom Gabriel Warrior and guitarist V. Santura and recorded and mixed at V. Santura's own Woodshed Studio in southern Germany as well as at Triptykon's rehearsal facilities in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2013 and 2014. Those who have already heard Melana Chasmata have described it as "atmospheric, dark, diabolical, and dramatic", "diverse, epic, and doomy, but on an entirely different level", "a fierce boulder of abhorrence", or "very heavy and yet very aesthetic at the same time".

Melana Chasmata will feature the following nine songs, at a playing time of around 67 minutes:

'Tree Of Suffocating Souls'

'Boleskine House'

'Altar Of Deceit'

'Breathing'

'Aurorae'

'Demon Pact'

'In The Sleep Of Death'

'Black Snow'

'Waiting'

Further new Triptykon music has been recorded, to be released as an EP or mini album later in 2014 or early in 2015.

Among other formats, the album will be released as a 32-page Mediabook (with lyrics and liner notes to every song, and with a special fold out poster), as a gatefold vinyl double album (with posters and large-format booklet), and for digital download. Additionally, Century Media is scheduled to issue a special box set, limited to 2000 copies. The box set will include the album, a Triptykon silver pendant, a poster, postcards, a Triptykon tote bag, and a cap.

Melana Chasmata will be further distinguished by featuring, for the second time for Triptykon, the extraordinary art of legendary Swiss surrealist HR Giger. Following Eparistera Daimones, the group began to make arrangements for an entirely different cover for the second album. Completely unexpectedly, HR Giger approached Tom Gabriel Warrior in October of 2011 to express his appreciation of how Triptykon had used his art on the first album and to propose a continuation of the artistic collaboration. This development thus marks the first time any musical artist has worked with HR Giger on three albums (Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion, and Triptykon's Eparistera Daimones and Melana Chasmata), and it commemorates a collaboration that has now lasted for 30 years.

Melana Chasmata features Giger's dramatically mysterious Mordor VII (work no. 283, 100 x 70 cm, acrylic on wood, 1975) as a front cover and Giger's Landschaft XVI [Landscape XVI] (work no. 209, 100 x 70 cm, acrylic on paper on wood, 1972) as gatefold art.

After a lengthy hiatus, Triptykon will return to the stage this year to promote Melana Chasmata. Among the concerts so far scheduled are appearances at the celebrated Roadburn Festival, at Rock Hard Festival, and, pending the issuance of the proper visas by US authorities, Triptykon's return to the United States for an exclusive appearance at Maryland Death Fest.

Triptykon consists of V. Santura (guitar, vocals), Norman Lonhard (drums, percussion), Vanja Slajh (bass, vocals), and Tom Gabriel Warrior (voice, guitars).

Triptykon's live schedule can be found here.