Photo by Ilona Gerasymova | Written by Sosefina Fuamoli

It is fitting that on their sixth studio album, Imminence find themselves at the centre of a transformative period of their career. 

The album title, Axis Mundi (released via Sumerian Records), translates to “axis of the world”: offering imagery of a central figure or pillar to which everything is connected. A connection between Earth and the supernatural; the known and the unknown.

Inspired by elements of their own Swedish culture including Midsummer - specifically the maypole, which in this case is a representation of axis mundi - Imminence have created a powerful new world of storytelling with crushing cinematic music to match.   

Navigating overarching themes of living with purpose, facing moral dilemmas and challenges as humans finding their way between life and death, Axis Mundi is a portrait of human complexity and duality, delivered by Imminence in a way that highlights the band’s maturity and elevated artistry.

For the group, stepping forward with a project this ambitious has only made them more curious as to where they can go next. 

“It has allowed us to set even higher goals for ourselves for the upcoming six months, that we would never have dreamed about before,” guitarist Harald Barrett says. “The last album cycle (2024’s The Black) and this album has given us the courage to do so.”

The lead up to Axis Mundi’s release has seen songs like ‘Crestfallen’, ‘The Sword That Never Bends’ and ‘False Light’ offering listeners insights into the album: cathartic, expansive and punishing compositions that speak directly to Imminence’s bold approach to metalcore, alt rock and a take on symphonic metal that has become their signature.

Previously, both Barrett and vocalist Eddie Berg have admitted that Axis Mundi was almost a reaction to writing its predecessor, The Black. Here, they have been able to drive themselves into new sonic territory, forcing themselves outside their comfort zone in unlocking new elements of their sound and way of working together.

Berg reflects on this time, “I think you clock it early with the first songs you’re creating, you can feel that it’s a newer path. But then of course, you continuously build upon that during the creative process. Pushing the boundaries of what the record will be.”

“You find a new direction early on, and that’s never really a deliberate thing. You just know after a couple of tracks, you begin to see the new way things are heading,” Barrett adds. 

“You find the common theme and spectrum of emotions and sounds. [From there] you can move in different directions on that new path and sometimes you go further into a new sound, stretching whatever is possible within this new soundscape. Maybe for the people who get to listen to the new songs for the first time, they experience it as a huge new step. For us, some of the music doesn’t feel that far away from what we were doing before because in our process, we’ve already travelled even further away from it.”

Axis Mundi marks the first time Imminence brought outside personnel into their creative process, notably with the inclusion of Drew Fulk (Knocked Loose, HEALTH) and film score producer and composer Lukas Geppert on additional production and orchestration.

Imminence also took things a step further in their own process, expanding their ideas for the Axis Mundi visuals – instead of creating standalone music videos, they have developed a full narrative structure that presents as an ongoing series; a film, directed by Pavel Trebukhin.

Having external perspectives add new brushstrokes to the portrait Imminence had already created, only reinforced Axis Mundi’s impact as an emotive artwork. 

Where it may have felt unfamiliar and perhaps at times uncomfortable for the band to embrace a new way of working, Imminence has come out the other side a stronger unit for it.

“It’s new territory for us, but the core principles stay the same,” Berg muses. “The ambition, especially with the film and everything around this album, is so much bigger. I wouldn’t really say that it’s changed the way we approach the process as a whole, but it’s definitely an evolution of it.”

“When you’re creating a song and you sit with it on so many different levels, you hear it probably ten thousand times before it's released,” he adds. “I think it’s hard to have an overview of what you’ve created, when you’re so deep in it.”

“Having Lukas coming in and not really writing something new, he was adding to the song and maybe replaying the melodies we wrote with different instruments…it made me realise that these were actually really cool melodies! I hadn’t heard them in that context before, so it was a really exciting part of working with Lukas.”

Barrett agrees, noting that having the added perspectives of Geppert and Fulk during the production process helped shape the overall feel and shape of Axis Mundi, right down to which tracks made the final cut.

“Sometimes you feel so locked in on the process itself, writing the news songs while at the same time, trying to distance yourself from it…” he says.

“Having someone like Drew involved, it was the first time we’d had external producers who were able to bring an extra opinion to what was already there. Sometimes confirming our decisions were right in certain areas, sometimes picking up points we may have missed. A track like ‘Crestfallen’, which turned out to be a single, we initially thought we’d scrap. Drew came in and was like, “Guys, this song is really great, maybe we should pick it up and keep working on it.” That was a learning experience for me.”

As many artists used to being in the creative trenches on their own, will understand, the mindset of feeling compelled to execute every element of a project to perfection on your own is one that can be hard to shift. 

While Imminence have remained very much at the helm of Axis Mundi and the continued development of their sound, Berg and Barrett have had their band’s vision and purpose redefined by having affirmations and importantly, new opinions put into the mix.

“Comparing it to the last album when that was released, we had no idea what would happen during the following two years,” Barrett explains. “We dropped [The Black] in April 2024 and so much has changed, moreso than ever before. I don’t want to compare or get my expectations up but of course, it’s super exciting to wonder where this album will take us. Just because you’re releasing the songs and the album, doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the end goal. Now is when it all starts.”

“This album has handed us a much bigger toolbox, so we are better able to understand what we can do musically,” he add. 

“The essence is the same, but we have explored to what extent you can take certain parts. I mean, we have made a film. We’re not just making music videos anymore, we actually made a film this time. Our music is cinematic and people have always associated it with us too, so to be able to see where we can take it…this is probably the biggest takeaway I have from this album. Seeing how far we can take everything that is Imminence. Not being afraid to do that. To know It’s okay and it’s fine to try as far in any direction as possible, as long as it’s still you.”

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Axis Mundi, the new full length from Imminence arrives October 2nd via Sumerian Records. The album is currently available for pre-order - HERE

The arrival of Axis Mundi leads into Imminence's massive 2026 headlining tour across North America with support from Dying Wish and Gaerea. The tour begins November 13th in Worcester, MA and closes out December 13th with a finale in Montreal. Launching into 2027, Imminence then sets out on a massive European headliner with support from August Burns Red and the meteoric House of Protection.

Get a list of cities, dates and purchase tickets - HERE