Beast In Black have released Fear The Beast, the title track from their forthcoming fourth album, alongside a cinematic new video. The Finnish Heavy Metal force return with new music after a festival summer and a North American tour with Helloween. The single arrives before the band heads to Asia for shows in Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing, followed by its extensive Resurrection Tour across Europe.
Songwriter and producer Anton Kabanen says the track was inspired by Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien and, in particular, the biomechanical art of H.R. Giger. “Ever since I was a teenager I’ve seen recurring nightmares about a xenomorph hunting me in dystopian-themed environments, yet never quite catching me – thank goodness. Beside the creature’s downright perverted and extreme appearance, I find it sensual, elegant, intense, fierce, horrifying, exotic and mysterious, almost as if it’s a beauty and a beast merged into one.”
Kabanen says the concept began taking shape in Turku in early 2020 while he and artist Roman Ismailov were developing the first sketches for the Dark Connection album cover. The idea of a Giger-inspired sleeve was held back for the band’s fourth record.
“And in a funny way, it turned out that it’s I who captured my assailant, the xenomorph, inside a song after all these years.
“It was in early 2020 in Turku (a city in Finland), when Roman Ismailov and I were hanging out at a hotel and working on the first sketches for the Dark Connection album cover. Then alongside came the idea of making Giger’s art-inspired album cover, if not now then possibly for the fourth album, so here we are.
“Though the song is solely based on the first film, James Cameron’s sequel Aliens is equally important to me in terms of an emotional impact. We tried to blend some of the feel from both films into our music video, with Cameron’s influence weighing more on the visual side of industrial elements.
“Another speciality in the video and on the album cover is the debut of our XENOBEAST, which was, quite obviously, designed by Roman Ismailov. In the video you’ll also see some reptilian-looking embryos which may raise a question: are the reptilians and the Xenobeast actually of the same alien race but shown in their radically different stage of metamorphosis, or is the Xenobeast rather a Cerberus-type of a creature guarding the eggs?”
Although the song draws solely on the first Alien film, the video blends its atmosphere with the industrial influence of James Cameron’s sequel, Aliens. It also introduces the Xenobeast, designed by Ismailov. “We’re absolutely thrilled about this beautiful cinematic video, which wouldn’t have been possible without Katri Ilona Koppanen and Emil Pohjalainen of Nestruction Studios, who pushed their abilities to the extreme and beyond to fight against a juggernaut of challenges. We, the band, salute you!”
Featuring new lead guitarist Markus Venehsalo, Fear The Beast carries Beast In Black’s familiar combination of dance-driven Heavy Metal, memorable riffs, forceful vocals and fiery guitar solos. The song was written and produced by Kabanen, with artwork by Ismailov. Award-winning director Katri Ilona Koppanen created and directed the video.
Beast In Black 2026 Tour Dates
Asian Tour
- 19 September – Tokyo, Japan – Zepp DiverCity
- 20 September – Tokyo, Japan – Zepp DiverCity
- 22 September – Taipei, Taiwan – Moondog
- 24 September – Shanghai, China – VAS Live
- 25 September – Beijing, China – MAO Livehouse
Full Metal Holiday
- 23 October – Mallorca, Spain – Pool Stage
Resurrection Tour With Sonata Arctica And Frozen Crown
- 26 October – London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town
- 27 October – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
- 28 October – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 Poppodium
- 29 October – Leipzig, Germany – Haus Auensee
- 31 October – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
- 1 November – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra
- 2 November – Zlin, Czech Republic – Sports Hall Datart
- 3 November – Gliwice, Poland – PreZero Arena
- 5 November – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
- 6 November – Hannover, Germany – Swiss Life Hall
- 7 November – Ludwigsburg, Germany – MHP Arena
- 8 November – Offenbach, Germany – Stadthalle
- 9 November – Paris, France – L’Olympia
- 11 November – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
- 12 November – Madrid, Spain – Sala La Riviera
- 13 November – Bilbao, Spain – Santana 27
- 14 November – Toulouse, France – Le Bikini
- 15 November – Lyon, France – Le Transbordeur
- 17 November – Zurich, Switzerland – Komplex 457
- 18 November – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
- 20 November – Munich, Germany – Zenith
- 21 November – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Rockhal
- 22 November – Oberhausen, Germany – Turbinenhalle
- 23 November – Hamburg, Germany – Inselpark Arena
- 24 November – Gothenburg, Sweden – Tradgar’n
- 25 November – Stockholm, Sweden – Arenan Fryshuset
- 27 November – Joensuu, Finland – Unholy Winter Fest *
- 28 November – Jyvaskyla, Finland – John Smith Frozen *
- 5 December – Helsinki, Finland – Ice Hall **
* Without Sonata Arctica and Frozen Crown. ** With special guest The 69 Eyes and support from Rabbit Cult.
Tickets are available from the official Beast In Black website.
Beast In Black Lineup
- Yannis Papadopoulos – lead vocals
- Mate Molnar – bass
- Atte Palokangas – drums
- Markus Venehsalo – guitars
- Anton Kabanen – guitars, vocals and virtual instrument programming
