Dungeon doom/death/black trio Cultic unleash ‘Nomad’ video

Cultic, the York, PA-based dungeon doom/death/black metal trio, is set to release their third full-length album, Lore, on October 3rd via Eleventh Key Records. Cultic’s heaviest and most experimental work yet, Lore expands the Cultic mythos, plunging into a twisted realm of dark fantasy and sinister encounters through a journey into the minds of those who fight, rule, and suffer within its shadowed halls. 

As the first preview from the album, Cultic unveils the opening track, “Nomad,” accompanied by a music video that fuses raw live band footage with flashes of mythic imagery. Shot by Tracy Conway, the band’s high-saturation performance footage crackles with intensity. Woven between these scenes are glimpses of the mysterious Nomad—portrayed by Nate Tyson of SpellBook—whose presence evokes the bold, stylized power of a Frazetta painting.

Cultic frontman/guitarist Brian Magar states:

“‘Nomad’ is the story of a lone warrior who seizes ancient secrets from a dying kingdom and feeds them into the hands of The Warlock—fueling a ritual that wakes the dragon and sets the world ablaze.”

WATCH the Video for “Nomad” Below; FIND the single on your preferred digital platforms AT THIS LOCATION

Conjured in 2016 by husband-and-wife duo Brian and Rebecca Magar (also of The Owls A.N.W.T.S), Cultic first unveiled their wizardry on the Prowler demo in 2017. Later joined by bassist Reese Harlacker, the band forged a fantasy-driven, dungeon-fused, battle-death/doom/punk-metal crossover. Reese remained a vital part of Cultic’s evolution, appearing on their first two albums as well as the title track of the Seducer maxi-single (2023), before relocating to another state. He was replaced in 2022 by Andrew Harris, a veteran of proto-metal and doom, who debuted on the maxi-single’s other track, “Seduced.”

Cultic’s reputation for their conceptual approach to dungeon metal began with High Command (2019) and evolved with Of Fire and Sorcery (2022), which introduced dungeon synth interludes and diptych artwork linking it to their debut. Seducer and its expanded cassette edition (Crucial Blast, 2024) deepened their tales through the enigmatic Seducer figure.

With shorter, more focused tracks, the upcoming album Lore, recorded at The Golden Castle, hones Cultic’s sound into a raw, unrelenting force that hits harder than ever before, fusing the raw power of death/doom, first-wave black metal, and punk with churning riffs, eerie synths, pounding war drums, and bellowing horns. Building upon the mythos introduced in Seducer, Lore fully embraces Cultic’s world-building approach, with each track embodies the spirit of its characters—songs like “Crone,” “Warden,” “Fool,” and “Nomad” manifest through thunderous compositions, eerie atmospheres, and a driving intensity, giving voice to the twisted figures who inhabit this strange and vicious world.

The album unfolds in three distinct phases: 

1. ENCOUNTERS — Eerie, atmospheric and bizarre encounters.(Track# 1-7)
2. CONQUEST — Grandiose and explosive struggles by the power-mad. (Track# 8-13)
3. WITHIN THE KEEP — A final descent into the oppressive walls of the castle’s inner keep. (Track# 14-18) 

The music itself mirrors these transformations, shifting between haunting tension, towering bombast, and suffocating oppression—interweaving punishing heavy metal assaults with brooding dungeon synth interludes.

The cover art for Lore, created by drummer Rebecca Magar, forms a trilogy that began with the band’s debut, High Command, and its successor, Of Fire and Sorcery. Together, the three covers form a triptych, with each piece representing the thematic evolution of Cultic’s unique lore.

Cultic is:
Brian Magar: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard, and Arrangements
Andrew Harris: Bass, Vocals
Rebecca Magar: Drums, Gong