Penitent sign to The Circle Music and reissue 1996 ‘Melancholia’ debut album
Penitent
Norwegian darkwave / industrial / ambient / experimental pioneers Penitent have signed with the Greek label The Circle Music. The collaboration will start with a reissue of the band’s debut album “Melancholia”, originally released by Cold Meat Industry almost 30 years ago in 1996.
The reissue will hold re-recorded music and rewritten English lyrics so Karsten Hamre confirms: “After nearly 30 years, the Penitent debut album “Melancholia” is set to be released in a new incarnation. The music and instrumentation has been re-recorded, and the lyrics have been rewritten and are now all in English. Thanks to the good people at The Circle Music this reincarnation, now dubbed “Melancholia Redux” is set to be released on both CD and LP.”
Below you can check the original version of “Melancholia”.
Karsten Hamre has been re-recording much of his ten-album discography while planning for the future stating, “I’m thrilled about this collaboration, which will be long-lasting. It will include more reworks and updated versions of the Penitent back catalog, with some tracks featuring added vocals.”
He also says that other albums may get “Redux” versions, including “The Beauty of Pain”, “As Life Fades Away”, and “Roses by Chaos Spawned”. Reworked versions of “Deserted Dreams” and “A Shapeless Beauty” are confirmed and will include vocals to reflect how the songs were performed live in the past, particularly in Iasi and Bucharest (Romania) and Sofia (Bulgaria).
There will also be new and never-before-released music in the pipeline.
About Penitent
Norwegian artist Karsten Hamre launched Penitent in 1994 as a pioneering darkwave project, combining poetry with atmospheric music. Penitent explores life’s dualities, focusing on themes like life and death, pain and torture, and sorrow and depression.
Hamre released the debut album, “Melancholia”, in 1996 under Cold Meat Industry, initiating a series of influential albums. Penitent partnered with various labels over the years, including Dark Vinyl, Prophecy, and Draenor/Napalm. In 2002, Hamre shifted styles with “Songs of Despair” but returned to his foundational sound in 2003 with “Deserted Dreams”, which he recorded in October.
Artists such as Bernt Sunde, who joined in 2000, and Asbjørn Log, who played synthesizer from 1995 to 1997, contributed to Penitent’s evolution. Despite these collaborations, Hamre has consistently driven the project’s creative direction.
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