Darkwave artist MORTES unveils his brooding second album ‚The Hunt‘, while SMASH HIT COMBO deliver a paranoid nu-metal assault and BALDUVIAN BEARS drift into intimate post-punk territory with their latest single ‚Sonder‘.Love, desire, ghosts, and blood — the hunt has begun. MORTES, the neo duke of darkness, returns with his highly anticipated second full-length album, ‚The Hunt‘, a dark romantic odyssey through obsession, longing, and the fragile brutality of the human heart. Blending neo darkwave with the cold elegance of post-punk, the melancholy of goth rock, and a touch of grunge-stained tension, the record moves like a creature of the night — seductive, restless, and impossible to escape. For the dark romantics and wounded souls who still believe beauty lives inside the shadows, ‚The Hunt‘ is already underway.
Adding urgency to the occasion, MORTES has also been selected by the M’Era Luna festival jury as one of the Top 5 artists in their prestigious newcomer contest — and is the only darkwave/post-punk act in the running. A slot at the iconic alternative festival could change everything for the artist.
Meanwhile, SMASH HIT COMBO plunge listeners into a fractured mindscape with their explosive new single ‚Paranoid‘. Spiraling between conspiracy and reality, the track is driven by a high-energy fusion of drum’n’bass and nu metal — nervous rhythms, heavy riffs, colliding rap flows, clean vocals, and intense screams that recreate the overwhelming sensation of losing control. Trust no one. Not even yourself.
Rounding out this wave of new releases, BALDUVIAN BEARS deliver something altogether more introspective with ‚Sonder‘. Built on soft, drifting synths and understated post-punk grooves, the track captures the strange beauty of realising that every passing face carries its own world of emotions, memories, and silent goodbyes. Melancholic yet quietly comforting, ‚Sonder‘ feels like a late-night drive under violet skies — distant, but never alone.