Sounds | Raphael Weinroth-Brown - Lifeblood
- John Van de Mergel
- 15 jun
- 3 minuten om te lezen
Alles, maar dan ook àlles aan de nieuwe van Raphael Weinroth-Browne getuigt van grote klasse. Er is de filmische video, geschoten in een Pools klooster, van de hand van Grupa13 (Behemoth, Leprous): episch, machtig, adembenemend! Het nummer zelf zit héél erg knap in elkaar en kent een sterke, dramatische opbouw met een door merg en been snijdende finale. Grandioos!
Lifeblood verschijnt op 3 oktober 2025 in eigen beheer.
Luister ook naar: Speed of Light
Lees
Shot on location in the remote Polish countryside, the video for first single 'Lifeblood' brings the music’s mythic, spiritual undercurrents to life with ritualistic imagery and architectural decay. The result is an extension of the song’s emotionally charged tension, a sense of becoming a vessel for something otherworldly.
Raphael adds, "I consider this album to be my most autobiographical work to date. As a metalhead turned full-time professional cellist making original music outside the classical realm, I have taken the road less travelled, nurturing my artistic vision and trusting my intuition even on an unorthodox path. I have forged a unique career and identity around my musical voice and the way it manifests itself through the cello. The defiant, audacious energy of this music represents my inexorable drive to continue pursuing my dream in spite of all obstacles."
Known for his emotionally charged performances and boundary pushing vision, Raphael Weinroth-Browne has become one of the most innovative cellists of his generation. Merging his roots in progressive metal with a passion for Middle Eastern music, he has forged a singular artistic voice that defies traditional expectations. His cello work can be heard on over 200 studio albums, including Woods of Ypres’ Juno Award-winning W5: Grey Skies & Electric Light and in major film and TV soundtracks. Viral cello covers of Opeth, Katatonia and Steven Wilson have earned praise from the artists themselves, while his genre-spanning studio and stage career continues to attract international attention.
Since joining Norwegian progressive rock icons Leprous in 2016, Weinroth-Browne has played over 200 shows worldwide with the band and helped shape the sound of three studio albums. He has shared stages with Evanescence, Apocalyptica, Devin Townsend and performed in front of 40,000 at Hellfest, as well as at prestigious venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall. As a solo artist, he has opened for artists ranging from Polish neoclassical pianist Hania Rani to Nordic folk ensemble SKÁLD and UK legends Soft Machine.
In recent years, Weinroth-Browne has pushed further into experimental performance and contemporary dance. His solo debut Worlds Within (2020), a 40-minute composition built entirely from layered cello, earned critical acclaim for its emotional depth and innovative form. In 2023, he performed the album live with Ottawa Dance Directive to a sold-out audience at Canada’s National Arts Centre. In 2024, he was commissioned by the UK’s James Wilton Dance to compose BACH Reimagined, an 80-minute score that toured leading venues across the UK and Germany in spring 2025. Following this, his recent single 'Speed of Light' continued the forward momentum, merging baroque motifs with crushing distortion and polyrhythmic intensity, earning acclaim for its fearless fusion of past and future. As his creative output grows increasingly multidisciplinary, Weinroth-Browne continues to defy genre boundaries and redefine what the cello can be in the 21st century.
With more to come later this year, Lifeblood marks a major milestone in Weinroth-Browne’s uncompromising creative journey, an album that channels passion, pain, discipline and defiance into a work that feels at once ancient and immediate, cerebral and gut-wrenching.
