Chicago (IL) – Long-running Blackened Melodic Death Metal quartet, Withering Soul, are set to release their fifth album, Passage of the Arcane, November 14 on Liminal Dread Productions!

Passage of the Arcane is a convergence of blackened atmospheres and sweeping song structures. A mystifying journey that exceeds boundaries while remaining fun and exciting. The overall theme of the album involves human experiences traversing into cursed oblivion. Each song explores its own story, ranging from unexplained disappearances to the supernatural. While variation is abundant within the soundscapes, it is with a cohesive direction. Each chapter takes on its own “passage” through channels of cursed lore and harrowing experiences of the past. A seamless balance of crushingly heavy riffs and chilling melodies.

FFO: Dark Fortress, Windir, Hypocrisy, Dissection, God Dethroned.

The album’s first single, “Attrition Horizon,” is available at:

A manifestation in the form of chilling soundscapes, foreboding atmospheres, contagious melodies and tortured chants echoing above an onslaught of calculated percussion. Withering Soul creates a musical elegy that is both majestic and haunting.

Conjured into existence by founding members Christopher (guitars and vocals) and Mykil (former lead vocalist) with the release of their debut album Apparitions of the Surreal in 2004, the band was later featured on “ReUnation – A Tribute to Running Wild” with a cover of “Firebreather” via Germany’s Remedy Records earning “Best Song on the Album” by WeRock (SWE). A few years later saw the release of their follow-up album, No Closure via Mortal Music (MVD Distribution). The album promptly landed a spot on Apoch’s Metal Review: “Top 50 Albums of 2011.”

The band eventually recruited Rick Hernandez on drums and Joel Miller on bass guitar. Following an array of live shows brought the release of their third full length album Adverse Portrait (2015). It was later labeled “Album of the Month” by Metalreviews.com. The band made a few festival appearances such as Full Terror Assault III and Artifact Metal Fest in 2018.

Over the course of the 2020 world shutdown the band resolved to continue forward with Christopher on vocals and released its fourth full length effort Last Contact. The album reached an unprecedented level of acclaim not limited to earning the 3rd spot in World of Metal’s top albums of 2021. The band immediately followed up with a busy live schedule both locally and out-of-state including a performance at Legion ov the Order festival in Tacoma, WA, Merciless Metalfest in Nova Scotia, Canada and Desecration Rituals VI and VII in Fort Wayne, IN.

Withering Soul has just recently finished its 5th album to be released at the end of 2025 and plans to continue transcending the boundaries of metal‘s darker genres while maintaining its own distinctive sound and leave its audiences spellbound for more.