Athens dark symphonic metal band Grotesco Karma have signed with The Circle Music and unveiled “Theatrical God,” the first single and lyric video from their second full-length album, Metanoia. The record arrives on March 26, 2027, and pre-orders are open now.
Pre-order Metanoia here or pre-save it here.
The song recasts religious authority as a macabre piece of theatre. It follows a believer face to face with a deity who created humanity’s weakness, led humans into temptation and then condemned them for their fall, with the god playing playwright, director and judge at once. The band explain:
“We wanted ‘Theatrical God’ to feel like a grand ceremony slowly revealing itself as a trial, where humanity is condemned for a fall it never chose. The orchestra becomes part of that drama, binding faith, guilt and transformation into the world of Metanoia.”
Grotesco Karma
A Live Orchestra at the Core
Grotesco Karma feature George Constantine Kratsas, assistant to Christos Antoniou of Septicflesh, and Nikitas Mandolas of Melechesh. Metanoia explores repentance, spiritual corruption and transformation, and it was recorded with a live string orchestra, the Violione String Orchestra, led by conductor Pavlos Elinas with orchestral artistic director Ioannis Zarias. The band say the orchestra is woven into the core of each song instead of sitting on top as decoration.
Since releasing “Devil’s Menuet” in early 2025, the band have toured Europe with Imperial Age, headlined a Balkan tour, played twice in Turkey and shared a major show in Dubai with Rotting Christ. The Latin American headline run this winter is the next step in that growing international profile, and the first with a new label behind them.
Tracklist
- Mnesthete
- Anosiourgema
- Theatrical God
- Gesthemane
- Testament of the Serpent
- Apparatus of Delirium
- Ikesia
- Gospel of the Wound
- Metanoia
- Oratorio Grottesco (CD bonus track)
Latin America Tour 2026
- Nov 27: Durango, Mexico
- Nov 28: San Luis Potosí, Mexico
- Nov 29: Uruapan, Mexico
- Dec 3: Oaxaca, Mexico
- Dec 4: Mexico City, Mexico
- Dec 5: Nicaragua
- Dec 6: Guatemala
Our Take
Greece has become one of the strongest homes for orchestral extreme metal, and a band with a direct link to the Septicflesh camp clearly knows what it is aiming for. Using a real string orchestra, and treating it as part of the songwriting, is a serious commitment for a band on its second album. “Theatrical God” is a bold first look, and fans of Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse should keep an eye on March.
