Aephanemer releases video for blistering single 'Contrepoint' • GRIMM Gent

Last Friday, on October 31, 2025, French melodic death metal trio AEPHANEMER was celebrating the release of their much-awaited, new studio offering, entitled Utopie, unleashed via Napalm Records.

In support of the new album, the band will embark on a European tour kicking off in early November, with special guests VALHALORE, DARK OATH and WALDGEFLÜSTER. Find all upcoming live dates listed below! But before the hotly-anticipated album was released, AEPHANEMER shared a music video for their final album single “Contrepoint”, that erupts at high speeds with anthemic, baroque influences woven together with inescapably melodic black metal arrangements.

“Contrepoint was such a joy to write and play. It’s the most polyphonic track on the album,”the band comments.“Beyond its immediate catchiness, we hope listeners will discover new layers, ornaments, secondary melodies, and details — with each listen, which is exactly what we love about the music that inspires us.”

Following the roaring success of their latest album A Dream Of Wilderness (2021), the Toulouse-based melodic death metal powerhouse strikes again with their fourth studio offering. With Utopie, AEPHANEMER recalibrates their formula, surging with heavier classical influences, blistering riffage, majestic orchestrations, and Slavic folk undertones — etching a sound equally ancient and futuristic.

Blending ferocious melodic death metal with cinematic grandeur, Utopie sees the band unleash an ambitious, razor-sharp assault of epic melodies, relentless speed, and philosophical depth, pushing their sound into bold new territory. Led by the commanding presence of Marion Bascoul, AEPHANEMER delivers a fiercely technical and emotionally immersive record — lyrically exploring the uniquely mythic urgency of modern times.

“With Utopie, we set out to create a sound that brings together the elements we’ve always loved — the intensity of melodic death metal and the depth of classical music,”AEPHANEMER recently said. “We spent a lot of time shaping melodies, drawing inspiration from polyphonic writing, and building orchestral arrangements that feel both powerful and natural to us. It was a challenging but fulfilling process, and we sincerely hope listeners will connect with what we’ve crafted.”

Lyrically, the record engages with the concept of utopia not as escape, but as confrontation — dissecting philosophical ideals with their refined sonic scalpel, and pushing for a world of harmony between living beings.

Utopie track listing:
1. Échos d’un Monde Perdu
2. Le Cimetière Marin
3. La Règle du Jeu
4. Par-delà le Mur des Siècles
5. Chimère
6. Contrepoint
7. La Rivière Souterraine
8. Utopie (Partie I)
9. Utopie (Partie II)

Available formats:
– 1CD Digipak
– 1LP Gatefold BLACK
– 1LP Gatefold ORANGE / BLACK Marbled
– Digital Album

Actively bucking genre conventions, AEPHANEMER continues to reinvent their path in the melodic death metal landscape. Utopie is more than just an album — it’s a storm of sound, an ideological reckoning, and a powerful new chapter from one of Europe’s most vital and visionary metal bands!

AEPHANEMER live:
Album Release Tour w/ Valhalore, Dark Oath, Waldgeflüster (EU):

06.11.25 DE – Weinheim / Cafe Central
07.11.25 DE – Leipzig / Hellraiser
08.11.25 DE – Berlin / War Against War Festival
09.11.25 DE – Kassel / Goldgrube
10.11.25 DE – München / Feierwerk
12.11.25 AT – Wien / Escape
13.11.25 HU – Budapest / Dürer Kert
14.11.25 PL – Kraków / Klub Gwarek
15.11.25 CZ – Praha / Black Pes
16.11.25 PL – Warszawa / Voodoo Club
18.11.25 LT – Kaunas / Klubas Lemmy
20.11.25 FI – Turku / Nirvana
21.11.25 FI – Helsinki / On The Rocks
22.11.25 FI – Tampere / Varjobaari
26.11.25 DE – Hamburg / LOGO
27.11.25 DE – Oberhausen / Helvete
28.11.25 DE – Oldenburg / Cadillac
29.11.25 BE – Ghent / Asgaard Gentbrugge
30.11.25 NL – Harlem / Patronaat
02.12.25 UK – London / The Underworld
03.12.25 UK – Manchester / Rebellion