Progressive act Phendrana announce new album 'Cathexis' and unveil title track • GRIMM Gent

Mexico City’s Phendrana is an avant-garde progressive/atmospheric metal project that invites its listeners on a journey of musical reflection into the shadows to face depression, loneliness, and our existential fears. Led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Anuar Salum, Phendrana is preparing to unveil the next studio album Cathexis on the 6th of February, 2026. The new music video for the title track and first single, provides an early prelude into the atmospheric sonic world of Phendrana.

A haunting and introspective experience awaits in ‘Cathexis‘. This first single release, ahead of the forthcoming album, ventures through delicate soundscapes, a plethora of instrumental textures and intriguing progressive arrangements. An intense collision of genres and styles is found throughout the track. Each influence is expertly molded to portray emotional turmoil. The contrast of light and shade, of delicate orchestral instruments against abrasive and dissonant metal sounds, brings to life Phendrana‘s thematic concept.

Cathexis Tracklist:
1. Lamento
2. Cathexis
3. Sentience
4. The Effigy & The Titan

Guest Collaborators on Cathexis:
Richard Schill [Dead by April, The Unguided, ex-Shining (Swe)] – Drums
Adrián Terrazas-González [T.R.A.M., ex-The Mars Volta, ex-Omar Lopez Rodriguez Group] – Woodwinds on “Cathexis”
Daniel Droste [Ahab] – Vocals on “The Effigy & The Titan”
Ana Bitrán – Female Vocals, Narrations Mafoo – Lead guitars on “Sentience” and “The Effigy & The Titan”
Gabriel Bitrán – Piano solo on “The Effigy & The Titan”
Ulises Juárez Mendoza – Cello

Phendrana is an avant-garde progressive/atmospheric metal project from Mexico City, founded by composer and multi-instrumentalist Anuar Salum in 2013. Salum, a formally trained classical composer, combines elements from atmospheric and progressive genres. Salum‘s compositions are permeated by tints of influence given by his rich multicultural background as a Mexican of Arab descent, the progressive rock and metal training that he has received throughout his life, and from the teachings of philosophical masters including Dostoevsky and Camus, who have shaped his ideology.

Phendrana has steadily grown within the underground scene, opening for international acts such as Alcest, Sylvaine, Heretoir, Gehenna, and Nader Sadek. The debut album, Sanctum: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (2018), received international praise and was nominated for Extreme Album of the Year at the Osmium Metal Awards.

Phendrana seeks to combine the classical and metal worlds in a non-traditional way. The forthcoming album, Cathexis, in terms of structure, nods to the dynamic flow of 1970s prog records like Yes – Close to the Edge and Relayer, with carefully constructed contrasts in range and texture instead of over-compression. Progressive rock and death metal are significant influences with further elements drawn from across the realms of atmospheric black metal, post-metal, and Avant-Garde.