Carmeria released Ex Cathedra independently on 30 October, their third album, and Jordan von Grae has given it a description worth keeping: misery you can dance to.
He is the singer, the main writer and the producer, so the phrase is not a reviewer's. It covers an actual tension in the record, which pairs dark subject matter with arrangements built to move, across symphonic metal, gothic rock and a heavier dose of melodic rock than the band have used before.
The new lyric video is for Phantasma, about how guilt and shame bend the way people see themselves. Those feelings can prompt reflection, he says, and can also turn destructive when somebody fixes on circumstances they could never have changed. The song lands on forgiveness, including of oneself.
"At its heart, this album is a tribute to perseverance in the face of hardship; to the notion that this too shall pass, and the understanding that while we cannot always choose our circumstances, we have the power to choose how we respond to them," he said.
He also calls it a line in the sand. "Personally, Ex Cathedra feels like the culmination of my journey as an artist. As a band, it feels like the record in which we have found our identity." Guitarist Jerry Zahija wrote the title track, and keytarist Mishka Bobrov contributed as well.