THE BEAST

WATAIN Announce Final Album: Swedish Black Metal Titans Set to Close the Book After 30 Years

In a move that will shake the foundations of the black metal underground and beyond, Swedish black metallers WATAIN have announced that their upcoming eighth studio album will also be their last. The band revealed the news earlier today (Saturday, September 20) with a solemn proclamation from their Temple, marking the beginning of their final chapter.

The statement reads like scripture carved in fire:

"We hereby announce that in III years' time — upon our 30th anniversary — WATAIN's eighth and final full-length album will be released. The album will mark the closure of a thirty-year-long magical Work, the last crossroad of WATAIN, after which the band will cease to exist… Instead of being consumed by the jaws of time, or broken upon the wheel of circumstance, we choose to let WATAIN return, unbowed and undefeated, back into the primordial chaos that once gave it life."

For the next three years, the band promises new music, concerts, and more revelations leading up to their swan song. WATAIN insist this is not a farewell, but the beginning of a “sacrificial requiem,” an invitation for their followers to partake in shaping the band’s last era into something unforgettable.

A Legacy Carved in Fire and Blood

Formed in 1998, WATAIN emerged from Uppsala’s black metal underground with a mission to embody extremity in every sense. Over the years, they have grown into one of the most infamous and revered acts in the genre. Their live performances — equal parts ritual, chaos, and spectacle — have earned them both cult-like devotion and media notoriety. Fans and critics alike describe their legacy with awe, fear, confusion, or reverence — but never indifference.

Their most recent release, The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain (2022, Nuclear Blast), was hailed as a ferocious and uncompromising addition to their discography, proving the band remains at full strength even after two decades of relentless creation.

The Philosophy of Watain

Frontman Erik Danielsson has often spoken about the philosophy that drives WATAIN. In a past interview, he explained his belief that true metal can only be written by those who live it:

"The metal that always struck hardest, the metal that always kind of shook my soul has always been written by liberated spirits, by outlaw, free-thinking real rock and roll men and women… If I would write a song about death, I would probably wait until I had some kind of actual experience of it. And the same thing goes, but in a larger context, with metal music. I think it kind of demands a personal affiliation, a kind of deep-rooted compatibility between the artist and the music."

This authenticity — lived, breathed, and burned into every note — has always been the lifeblood of WATAIN’s art.

The Final Three Years

The countdown has now begun. With three years until their 30th anniversary, WATAIN will spend this liminal era writing their final album, performing select shows, and unveiling what promises to be a deeply intentional closing act. True to their statement, these years will serve as a borderland between life and death, creation and dissolution.

For the fans, this isn’t just the end of a band. It’s the culmination of a three-decade ritual, the last rites of one of black metal’s most uncompromising forces.

As WATAIN themselves put it:

"Take this message not as a farewell, but as the first note of a sacrificial requiem… To the DEATH and far beyond!"