Der Rote Milan new album, Verlust.

Enveloped in shadow, German sextet DER ROTE MILAN create intense, melodic, riff-driven black metal. The band explore a strange sense of beauty that emerges from despair through the multi-faceted nature in which loss is experienced. The new album, Verlust, follows the 2023 EP Schlund and sees DER ROTE MILAN develop further their atmospheric sound and lyrical depth. Verlust will be released on December 12th, 2025, via Unholy Conspiracy Deathwork.

Verlust is steeped in a deep sense of humanity - of indulging in the human condition, even those parts many may wish to avoid. DER ROTE MILAN encourage us to sit with the discomfort, with the pain and acknowledge that change is certain, but it is not hopeless.

Loss exists and purveys through our lives in many forms. DER ROTE MILAN's sound draws from nature, but also from the darker side of humanity's acts notably historical wars in Central Europe, anti-religion and, on an individual level, inner conflict.

"Aus der Finsternis" establishes the mood for the album. Through sonic manifestation, DER ROTE MILAN focus on the initial shock and the first stage of loss in this track. The powerful and heavy instrumentation reveals a sense of destruction, of desolation, as the reality of the loss hits. Through the melodic elements, there is fragility but also a very faint touch of hope entwined amongst the gloom.

"Où allez-vous" translates to “Where are you going?”, and delves into the raw heartache. The music portrays the need to surrender to the grief rather than attempt to resist it. The musical arrangement explodes with a ferocious onslaught before giving way to a calmer moment, a fragile moment, that sharply contrasts the earlier tumultuous metal sound.

The unyielding nature of "Skepsis der Existenz" induces an enveloping dissonance. Haunting and lamenting, grief, longing and despair transforms into anger directed both inwardly and outwardly. Verlust's title offering is deliberately slow and considered in its pace. It is the emotional heart of the album and the emotion that emanates from the sound represents the cold and stillness of loss.

Drawing Verlust to a close, "Der letzte Rubin" is inspired by a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This concluding piece subverts the portrayal of grief in the previous tracks by presenting a romanticized, idealized experience of love and grief. "Der letzte Rubin" embraces tragedy with the compelling and alluring idea of suffering.