CULT OF ALCAEUS

“Destruction and rebirth are the engine of evolution.”

“Changing one event might only replace a known horror with an unknown one.”

“The Doomed Cycles world is our real world – just seen without filters.”

“Our music is a lens that forces people to see extreme realities up close.”

“Every myth carries a lesson.”

“Truth is revealed when structures fall.”

“Collapse is the end of an illusion.”

“There is a brutal and honest aesthetic in chaos.”

“Metal refuses to be background music.”

“Our art is the culmination of all our life experiences.”

In an era where shock has lost its impact and collapse has become a daily headline, Cult of Alcaeus approach metal not as provocation, but as revelation.
With their conceptual trilogy ‘Doomed Cycles‘, the Portuguese band strips away illusion to expose a world caught in an eternal loop of destruction and rebirth – not as fantasy, but as reality seen without filters.
In this interview, vocalist Ares Baal reflects on myth-making, philosophical decay, the beauty hidden in chaos, and why metal still matters in a desensitized world.
What emerges is not a manifesto, but a challenge:
if the cycle is inevitable, what will you do once you truly see it?
‘Doomed Cycles‘ frames humanity in a loop of destruction and rebirth.
If you could rewrite history with one break in that cycle – what moment or decision would you change, and why?
“First of all, thank you for inviting us to this conversation! It is an excellent and complex question to start with!
The truth is, there are countless moments I would be tempted to rewrite… The rise of a tyrant, the fall of an empire, or a disastrous technological decision. But I believe both destruction and rebirth are necessary. Changing one event might just exchange a known horror for an unknown one. There is no guarantee that the new cycle would be better. So, I would not change anything. The cycles, however painful they may be, are essential. They are the engine of evolution, the only force that truly cleanses the decay to allow something new to emerge. I accept the cycle.”
You explore heavy existential themes – but offstage, what genuinely inspires you?
Literature, film, philosophy, real-life experiences?
“What genuinely inspires me is Art. Music, obviously, but also cinema and literature, which are great forms of storytelling. Then I also have my life experiences, like traveling and seeing how the world works in other places. But what I think inspires me the most is people. The way they interact, their stories, their struggles, their obsessions, their failures, their resilience… These are the things that make my brain work and give me a lot of inspiration.”
Your music – and especially the ‘Doomed Cycles‘ concept – seems to have philosophical underpinnings.
Do you view your art as social critique, personal catharsis, prophecy, or something else entirely?
“Fundamentally, what I really enjoy is telling stories. People can interpret them as social critique or catharsis, and those messages may in fact be there. What is real can blend with what is fiction. But for me, the priority is the narrative. It’s the art of taking an idea and turning it into an intense story.”
When writing the trilogy, did you feel like you were constructing a myth or a warning?
And if the latter – warning to whom:
to society, to individuals, to a future generation?
“The main focus is always the narrative, so I feel I was primarily constructing a myth. However, every myth carries a lesson, so the trilogy ends up functioning as a warning. But it’s a warning focused more on the individual. I’m not interested in warning society, which often chooses not to see. The warning is a challenge to those who are already aware. Knowing that the cycle is inevitable, what do you do with that information?”
If ‘Doomed Cycles‘ were not just a concept but a world – what would that world look like?
A ruined cityscape, a broken civilization, a psychological hellscape – or something stranger?
“The ‘Doomed Cycles’ world is our real world, but seen without filters. All those ideas of ruined cityscapes, broken civilizations, or psychological hellscapes are real things. They are happening right now, somewhere on the planet. But for most of us, they seem distant. I believe our explosive, chaotic, and intense music is a lens that forces us to see the world’s most extreme realities up close.”
Looking ahead:
If you could complete a second trilogy after ‘Doomed Cycles‘ – what would it be about?
Rebirth? Resistance? Salvation? Despair?
What message would you want to leave behind?
“The ideas are always emerging, but our music stems from what we feel intensely in the moment. We don’t force themes. The next trilogy will be built on the pure emotion that dominates us at the time of creation.”
Your music carries a distinctly Portuguese atmosphere – even without overt cultural markers.
Do you believe your country’s history (empire, tragedy, fado-melancholy, revolution) subconsciously shapes your sound?
“Yes, in part it is inevitable. The art we make is the culmination of all our life experiences, and the history and culture of Portugal are what is closest to us. The country carries the weight of a certain historical melancholy, ‘saudade’, or the feeling of tragedy and lost glory. We don’t use obvious cultural markers, but that atmosphere and feeling also can end up being present in our sound, even if subconsciously.”
Metal scenes differ drastically from country to country.
What defines the Portuguese metal community in your eyes – and what do you wish the world understood about it?
“I actually partially disagree with that statement. There are many subcultures that vary vastly from country to country, but the Metal scene actually seems quite similar everywhere, which is great! I love visiting another country, discovering an underground bar, going to shows, and immediately feeling at home. It’s like visiting family abroad. The community and passion are the same, Metal seems universal! At least in European countries, which is where I travel more often.”
When performing live, do you aim to bring listeners into the world of ‘Doomed Cycles‘ – or to bring the themes of ‘Doomed Cycles‘ out into the real world?
“We just want to put on a great show and transmit our message with the most energy we can!”
Has there been a moment on stage when you felt your music changed the energy of a room – not just entertained, but transformed it?
What happened?
“Yes, and it’s always a phenomenal experience! It happens when we and the audience enter into synchronicity. It’s a moment when we feel we have managed to transmit our message and that the audience is willing to really listen to us and feel what we are playing. That moment of profound connection is the culmination of all our work and the main reason why we step onto a stage.”
Writing concept-driven music requires discipline.
Do you write from a rigid framework first – or do the concepts emerge after the music takes shape?
“As I said before, we are very much driven by feeling. We don’t work from a rigid framework. What we feel at the moment of creation is what comes out, and that includes the concepts. Things always end up connecting organically because the feeling is genuine.”
Metal often deals with extremity – violence, collapse, despair – but there’s also beauty in chaos.
Do you believe there is an aesthetic – or even a form of truth – in collapse and decay?
“Yeah I agree, otherwise Metal would become hollow and lose a great part of its interest. Truth is revealed when structures fall. Collapse and decay are the end of an illusion. There is a brutal and honest aesthetic in chaos, because it is real. It is the purest way to expose the fragility of everything we build.”
Finally:
Do you think metal still has the power to provoke – not just offend, but genuinely challenge ways of thinking – in a world that has become desensitized to shock?
“Yes, ideally that’s what happens. Metal is already a mature genre that doesn’t try so much to offend, but rather to convey real and profound themes. In a world where shock barely works anymore, Metal provokes through its pure intensity and its demand. It demands that we stop, and listen to the complexity and the violence of the sound. That brutal honesty and the refusal to be background music is what truly challenges people’s way of thinking.
Thank you once more for the opportunity and the excellent questions! Stay Heavy!”
Rather than offering salvation or easy answers, Cult of Alcaeus embrace inevitability.
Their music does not promise escape from the cycle – it demands awareness within it.
‘Doomed Cycles‘ stands as both myth and mirror, forcing listeners to confront collapse not as an abstract concept, but as a fundamental truth of existence.
In the end, Cult of Alcaeus are not interested in warning the blind, nor comforting the fearful.
Their art is aimed at those already listening – those willing to face chaos, accept decay, and find meaning not beyond collapse, but inside it.
Fok ‘bs’

Portuguese metal force Cult Of Alcaeus unveils the final chapter of their conceptual trilogy ‘Doomed Cycles’ with the release of ‘The Odyssey Of The Soul‘ (AMV Lyric Video) – arriving exactly one year after the original single first surfaced.
This AMV-styled visual piece dives into the emotional and existential core of the song:
a passage through internal upheaval, spiritual awakening, and a descent into the deepest recesses of the human psyche.
More introspective than its predecessors, ‘The Odyssey Of The Soul‘ reflects on the psychological and philosophical toll of living trapped within self-perpetuating patterns – and the urge to escape into alternate realities when the weight of existence becomes too defining.
With ethereal melodies, dark textures, and a sense of quiet finality, the track suggests that while the end of the cycle may be inevitable, renewal remains a lingering possibility.
The video was crafted by long-time supporter and collaborator @x-esdeathAMV, whose anime-inspired aesthetic expands the narrative and closes the trilogy with a distinctly cinematic lens.
‘Forged By Rage‘ launched the concept with raw and visceral intensity – the spark that ignites the cycle.
The track explores anger as both weapon and catalyst:
a protest against injustice and a reminder that rage has the power to destroy and rebuild in equal measure.
The second chapter, ‘Iron Rebellion‘, captured the moment of revolt.
Unyielding and relentless, the track portrays resistance at its breaking point – a desperate struggle against fate, where willpower clashes with what seems predetermined.
Together, the trilogy examines the notion of ‘Doomed Cycles‘ – the repetitive collapse and reconstruction inherent to human and societal existence.
In a distant future, the theory suggests, those fully aware of this endless loop may cease to desire progress at all.
Through these three tracks, Cult Of Alcaeus reflects the constant push-and-pull between internal demons and external pressures – journeys of fury, rebellion, and the fragile search for stability.
Earlier in 2025, the trilogy’s tracks surfaced on the split-release ‘Doomed Algorithms‘ via Nova Era Records (Italy), cementing Cult Of Alcaeus’ expanding presence within the European extreme metal landscape.

track-list:
Necro Algorithm – Eternal Fleeting
Cult Of Alcaeus – Forged By Rage
Necro Algorithm – Echoes Of The Abyss
Cult Of Alcaeus – Iron Rebellion
Necro Algorithm – Awakening From Nothingness
Cult Of Alcaeus – The Odyssey Of The Soul
Necro Algorithm – Shadows Of The Soul

Cult Of Alcaeus and Necro Algorithm joined forces to release their split album, ‘Doomed Algorithms’.
This collaboration merges the raw energy of Death, Thrash, and Groove Metal of the 90’s with dark, apocalyptic themes and a dystopian, futuristic aesthetic.
Humanity doomed to witness is own end.
Necro Algorithm emphasizing a fusion of mechanical precision with raw aggression and a vision of AI dominance.
Defines the lines between man and machine with punishing riffs and devastating harmonies.
Cult Of Alcaeus, complements this vision with their trademark blend of dark philosophical themes with human authenticity.
The band explores the cycles of humanity destruction and reconstruction with unrelenting intensity.
The split album artwork has been meticulously crafted by Ares Baal, vocals at Cult Of Alcaeus, adding an enigmatic and catastrophic layer to the release.
“This collaboration represents more than just music; it’s a statement about humanity’s inevitable decline, amplified by the chaos of the modern world,” says bass player VLAD CYANIDE from Cult Of Alcaeus.