French progressive metal band Klone announce new album
More than twenty-five years after their beginnings in Poitiers, France, progressive metal band Klone announce The Moon Is Witness, their upcoming album set for release on March 12, 2027 via V2 Records. Drawing on the band's progressive metal foundations while exploring atmospheric arrangements and a strong melodic sensibility, the record brings together different facets of their evolving sound. "Unchained", the album's first single, offers an introduction to this new chapter.
"Both fierce and immersive, powerful and unifying, Unchained delivers raw, incisive energy driven by a cathartic chorus. Through organic and animalistic imagery, the lyrics explore the journey from captivity to complete liberation. A quest for emancipation that is both personal and collective." Yann Ligner (Vocals / Lyrics)
The song's original working title, Élan, reflects the sense of momentum that shaped its composition. For guitarist and songwriter Guillaume Bernard, that initial idea remains central to the track's character.
"During the writing process, the working title for this song was Élan, which means momentum or drive in French. That's exactly what the music evoked for me: a sense of movement, energy and freedom. It's a pretty dynamic track, with quite a few little surprises along the way, and we really played with contrasts. We're looking forward to bringing it to the stage and sharing that energy with the audience!" Guillaume Bernard (Guitar / Songwriting)
Across its nine tracks, The Moon Is Witness explores humanity's impulses, vulnerabilities and contradictions through the silent gaze of the Moon. An ever-present observer of both the best and darkest sides of human nature, it serves as the album's guiding thread, with lyrics touching on love, death, fear, hope and the traces we leave behind.
"On this album, the Moon becomes a witness to the most beautiful things in human beings, but also the darkest. I wanted to write from that perspective, with the distance it offers to look differently at our choices, ffaws and contradictions, without trying to explain or judge them, but simply to bring out their poetry." Yann Ligner (Vocals / Lyrics)
Musically, the album revisits the weight of Klone's guitar-driven roots while retaining the spacious arrangements that have shaped their more recent work. To bring this direction to life, the band reunite with Francis Castes, who previously produced their 2019 album Le Grand Voyage. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Studio Sainte-Marthe in Paris, The Moon Is Witness benefits from an organic production that balances instrumental detail with a powerful, expansive sound.
The album also features several guest musicians: Arnaud Roy on harp on "Wavering", "Mirage" and the instrumental "Moonlight"; Raphael Weinroth-Browne, known for his work with Leprous, on cello on "Mirage"; and Coroner guitarist Tommy Vetterli, who contributes a guitar part to "Molt".
