Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release?
Devious is Horizon of the Mute's fifth album and it follows the same path that started with previous album Voidscope. I'm happy with the album, just like I am with any album that I release. 
Devious has 9 tracks on it. They are bound together by a concept that is influenced by seven hermetic principles. There are fast tracks, like the first single release Within the Infinite and are also slower and doomier tracks like The Minor Planes.

How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before?
You can draw links to bands like Darkspace, Ministry, Godflesh and perhaps a few others. I do think that it sounds like a pure Horizon of the Mute record, with traditional Horizon of the Mute elements all over it. However it is done in a different way than for example the first three Horizon of the Mute albums that were slow and doomy from the beginning to the end. This one has a lot of faster stuff on it.

Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material?
I recorded the whole thing at my rehearsal studio. I think I started to make demos of new music right after Voidscope album was released in June 2020. The whole thing was recorded by the end of 2020. I had something else to do as well, so I didn't finish the mixing process before spring 2021. Also, I worked kind of slow due to this Covid-19 situation. I didn't want to make another album, without having a chance to play it live.

What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics?
I took the photo while traveling in central europe. There was no planned link, but in the end it fitted in perfectly. The album is about hermetic principles and I have always found the contrast and balance between opposite matters and elements as a very interesting and necessary thing.

What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band's aims at the moment?
Continuity or the end. I do not know yet. I think that both options are possible. Right now the aim is to promote this album as much as I can. I will also try to book some shows. The situation ain't ideal, but so be it.

Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed?
This album will be a digital release only. I have released most of the Horizon of the Mute releases by myself and it feels like that my personal capability to sell physical albums isn't enough.

Where and how will you promote this new release?
Here and now. Hopefully also some place else. You can't take it for granted that you get a lot of chances to do that these days. For earlier albums I did some touring in Europe, but right now the situation with Covid-19 doesn't look good for that.

Where can we order it from?
From www.horizonofthemute.bandcamp.com as digital download and you can also stream it on most of the major digital platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music and so on.

December 2022