Blackbriar announce new album ‘A Thousand Little Deaths’

Dutch symphonic metal band BLACKBRIAR announce their brand new album A Thousand Little Deaths, which will be released on August 22nd 2025 via Nuclear Blast Records. Together with this exciting news the band shares their new single ‘The Fossilized Widow’. The single channels the eerie spirit of the Victorian era, blending the mysticism of Ouija boards with the brooding passion of Wuthering Heights. A journey through dark love, spectral forces, and gothic intrigue. From October 2025 you can see BLACKBRIAR performing their new songs on their headline tour across Europe. All dates are listed below. 

Zora Cock comments: 

“The Fossilized Widow tells the story of a girl frozen in time, desperately holding on to someone she can never let go. She’s slowly descending into madness by all those words left unsaid, all those questions left to be asked. As the years pass, her home has turned into ruins, yet the legend says she still remains, trapped in her sorrow, waiting and watching. They call her The Fossilized Widow”

Stream `The Fossilized Widow’ here:
https://blackbriar.bfan.link/the-fossilized-widow

Pre-Order the new album A Thousand Little Deaths here:
https://blackbriar.bfan.link/a-thousand-little-deaths

Few bands are capable of conjuring up such vivid cinematic vision as BLACKBRIAR. The band’s lavish history of evocative dark fairytale storytelling and compelling gothic soundscapes continues to expand as we move further into 2025 and their upcoming third full length album, A Thousand Little Deaths. Tackling themes of love, loss, and death, BLACKBRIAR seek to take all willing Thorns on a passionate and resounding journey filled once more with mesmerizing imagery, masterful lyricism, and dark symphonic metal power.

Formed in 2012 by Zora Cock, René Boxem, Bart Winters, and Frank Akkerman, BLACKBRIAR crafted their first single in 2014 with “Ready to Kill,” but it was 2015’s second single “Until Eternity” that truly propelled them into the scene.  A sweeping track with an equally compelling and beautiful video, it continues to draw many to the act with over 20 million views since its debut. Taking advantage of the growing buzz surrounding the band, they independently recorded and released their first EP, Fractured Fairytales, as well as acquiring a second guitarist in Robin Koezen. This EP layed down an impressive foundation for the band’s ethereal and breathtaking sound and  brought about new opportunities for the act, including tour dates in The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and more, where the band played alongside Epica, Halestorm, In This Moment, Delain and MaYan.  

To keep moving ahead with full control of their creative ideals, the band successfully crowdfunded their follow-up EP, We’d Rather Burn, and brought it to life in October 2018.  This EP would be the first time the band worked alongside esteemed producer Joost van den Broek to arrange and produce the effort, and this fruitful collaboration allowed BLACKBRIAR’s whimsical and enigmatic sound to reach new sonic heights. Released the same day as their self-made video for “I’d Rather Burn,” this EP showcased a stronger sense of dreamy atmosphere and brought listeners beautifully grim tales of witches, banshees, and sea sirens.  In the time following, keyboardist Ruben Wijga (ex-Re-Vamp) took a larger role within the band and began playing shows, after being involved in the songwriting process since Fractured Fairytales.

A busy 2019 followed, the band released a haunting single in May entitled “Snow White and Rose Red.”  A duet with Ulli Perhonen, their take on the Grimm’s fairytale featured striking cinematic visuals to accompany the spellbinding track. Continuing to dig deeper into fairytale realms, Blackbriar closed the year with their third EP, Our Mortal Remains.  Ever-sharpening their intoxicating blend of storytelling and breathtaking musicianship, the EP brought about new live exposures for the act as well.  Small, sold out tours with Epica in 2019 and 2020, as well as a sold out opening for Delain’s Apocalypse & Chill release show in Utrecht followed, with more future plans then being put on hold due to COVID-19. 

Championing their continued independence, which included everything from songwriting, maintaining their web presence, overseeing merch, as well as shooting and producing their own videos and photos, Blackbriar reached out to their ever-growing and loyal fanbase for assistance to make their full-length album a reality in 2020. Fans fervently heeded the call, reaching the € 25,000 goal in under 24 hours and ending with a total of € 70,000 and achieving all five stretch goals.

Entering 2021, the band relinquished a bit of control in signing exclusively with Doomstar Bookings to help properly support their highly anticipated first full-length album, The Cause of Shipwreck, which released in April.  Once again recorded with renowned producer Joost van den Broek (Epica, Powerwolf, Blind Guardian, After Forever) at Sandlane Recording Facilities, this release showcased the band’s continued evolution into masterfully dark gothic storytelling and theatrical aesthetics that entice you into a deadly yet spellbinding musical paradise. On the live front, launching into success with six sold out Dutch club shows, they later extended into more European territories such as Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, and the Czech Republic as the band moved into 2022. 

Despite a very successful 2021, the band still hungered for more, unleashing a new single, “Fairy of the Bog” in December.  A song about ‘het meisje van Yde’ (Yde girl), it’s a mixture of folklore, myth, and ancient local history wrapped into a more mystical and magical package that showcases what Blackbriar does best. Due to winning ‘Drents Talent Award Culture 2021’ from ‘Stichting Kunst & Cultuur,’ Blackbriar performed ‘I’d Rather Burn’ live on television together with the Dutch ‘Noordpool Orchestra in early 2022. In April, the band parted ways with founding member and bassist Frank Akkerman. Not a band to slow down, they welcomed Siebe Sol Sijpkens from The Netherlands as their new bassist.  A happy and energetic performer with a lifetime of global performances, he is a welcome addition to the act as they continue to strive forward. Rounding out the year, Zora was able to collaborate with folk rock act D’Artagnan on the beautiful track “My Love’s in Germany,” and Bart and Robin formed a partnership with Lignator Guitars.

2023 would prove to be the biggest year for BLACKBRIAR to date. Officially signing to Nuclear Blast Records, the band also recorded their second full-length album A Dark Euphony, working alongside esteemed producer and continued collaborator Joost van den Broek. It’s a soundscape of “terrifying visitors, worlds far gone, gothic romances, bone-chilling legends, sin-eaters, burning hearts frozen in time, songs with a misleading voice, and a truthful whisper,” according to Zora Cock. A very successful pre-order campaign was once more launched in April, keeping that intimate connection with the fanbase alive. 

That spring, Zora was able to collaborate with Charlotte Wessels at her Six Feet Under Studio to participate in a cover of the Ghost song, “Mary on a Cross,” in addition to BLACKBRIAR being the special guest on her Dutch Club Tour. To build up the release of A Dark Euphony, the band departed on their first co-headlining tour last summer with Ad Infinitum across the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, selling out the first four shows, including Tivoli Vredenburg, as well as maintaining very strong sales for the remaining performances. They also hit some festival dates, including SummerBreeze and the beautiful Rock the Lakes festival in Switzerland before the album’s release. The group continued to garner accolades as the year came to a close, with their riveting and poignant video for “My Soul’s Demise” winning the award for best Groningen film in their native home of The Netherlands. On a more global scale, they were also featured in Metal Hammer’s best albums of 2023” list. 

In BLACKBRIAR’s efforts to truly reach the global metal marketplace, they reached a number of firsts in 2024. In the spring, they took a maiden voyage across the Atlantic for a fruitful North American tour supporting Battle Beast as their special guest. They also took to the famous Wacken Open Air festival for the first time, in addition to also performing at Summer Breeze and Rock Imperium Festival Spain. In addition, they launched a potent standalone single in “Moonflower” with guest Marjana Semkina (Iamthemorning). They capped off the year supporting Kamelot on their European tour, which brought them to some new locales as well as familiar ones over the 17 date trek.

During this busy time, they returned to the studio to record what would become their third full-length, A Thousand Little Deaths, once more with Joost van den Broek at the helm for production. To set some appropriate inspiration and a change of pace, the band ventured back to the ‘mansion’ featured in their “Until Eternity Ends” video and stayed a few days while working on the album. Their first time back since recording that moving video, it allowed them to tap into their roots while still keeping their eyes ever-forward. Set to release this summer through Nuclear Blast Records, expect BLACKBRIAR to once again raise the stakes in all aspects of their revered sound. In keeping the band’s tradition of direct connection to fans alive, they launched another triumphant pre-order campaign at the end of February. To celebrate the release of A Thousand Little Deaths, the band will be departing on their first full headline tour of Europe this fall with Danish act Forever Still as their special guest, beginning in October 2025.

Expect even more big things for BLACKBRIAR as 2025 continues along. With YouTube streams now reaching 71 million views and over 253,000 subscribers, and equally massive Spotify stats including a total of over 65 million streams, with over 190,000 monthly listeners who contribute to 1 million streams a month and 12 million streams per year, the world has taken notice of their distinctively macabre yet whimsical sense of metallic storytelling. Prepare to wrap yourself up in their seductive siren songs, and expect to be swept away on an unforgettable journey. 

BLACKBRIAR is:
Zora Cock – VOCALS
René Boxem – DRUMS
Bart Winters – GUITARS
Robin Koezen – GUITARS
Siebe Sol Sijpkens – BASS
Ruben Wijga – KEYS