Cascadian black metal duo Fauna have unveiled their highly anticipated fourth album, Ochre & Ash, in its full, unedited glory today, September 26, 2025, via Lupus Lounge. The album is a massive and epic ritual conceived as a shamanic underworld journey.
The duo—comprised of Vines (vocals, guitar, drums) and Echtra (vocals, guitar, bass)—commented on the concept, with Vines stating: “Ochre & Ash narrates a shamanic underworld journey, inspired by meditations on the slow flow of stone, the subterranean movements of magma that surface both in suppurating veins, and violent menstrual eruptions.” He continued, describing the raw essence of elemental creation, “It tells the tale of each spirit’s path, the winding chthonic passage that lies between death and rebirth—a circularity reflected in the creation of the Work itself.”
Though Ochre & Ash features six tracks, it is intended to be consumed as one complete piece, divided into three “songs” interspersed with ambient interludes. This structure follows a distinct shamanic sequence: preparation for death, descent to the underworld, a passage through the lands below, and the painful rebirth into new form.
The album’s title, Ochre & Ash, is inspired by the two main ingredients used by ancient humans to create paintings in caves. The cover art itself uses an image from the Cueva de las Manos (“Cave of the Hands”) in Argentina, where the oldest hands stencilled onto the rock date back to about 7,300 BC.
Fauna were founded in Olympia, Washington, in 2004 as animist ministers dedicated to exploring shamanism and atavism—the re-emergence of lost human spiritual traits. Their music is intended to shake free the contemporary mind and bring listeners back to a more primal existence. They quickly became an integral and inspirational part of the Cascadian black metal scene, alongside acts such as Agalloch and Wolves in the Throne Room.
Ochre & Ash takes listeners on a ritualistic journey deep into the age of early hunters and gatherers, echoing ancient humans gathering at torchlight in dark caves to perform acts of magic with ochre and ash.
The album is available as a Digisleeve CD, Gatefold black vinyl 2LP, and Gatefold ox blood red vinyl 2LP.
You can listen to the full album by scrolling down.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Ochre & Ash track list
- “A Conjuring”
- “Nature & Madness”
- “Femoral Sun”
- “Labyrinths”
- “Mockery”
- “Eternal Return”
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
