German progressive black metal band DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT are revisiting their sixth studio album, “Innern,” released in 2025, this time without vocals. Prepared to mark the album’s first anniversary, “Innern (Instrumental)” will be released digitally via Season of Mist on September 12, 2026.

The first preview of the project comes in the form of 'Xibalba (Instrumental),' released today as the lead track from the instrumental edition.

'Xibalba' also holds a special place in the story behind the idea of turning “Innern” into an instrumental release. The song was among the first instrumental pieces completed during the album’s writing process, while the vocals were among the final layers to be added. Bassist Alan Noruspur spent months with the song in its instrumental form before the vocals were recorded, and eventually found himself missing that version. This prompted the band to reconsider the idea of an instrumental album, which they had already discussed before the original release of “Innern.”

According to Nikita Kamprad, most of the songs on “Innern” initially emerge as instrumental compositions anyway. For that reason, the new release is not intended to replace the original album with an alternative version, but rather to offer another perspective on the same body of music.

That approach also means that “Innern (Instrumental)” is more than simply a version with the vocal tracks removed. Kamprad created an entirely new mix for the release, rebalancing the instruments and adding new atmospheric layers in certain sections. With the vocals gone, the synthesizers and ambient textures become more prominent, while the interplay between Kamprad and Nicolas Rausch’s guitars, Noruspur’s bass, and Tobias Schuler’s drums can be heard more directly.

The central idea behind the project is to allow the songs to retain their atmosphere, emotion, and narrative structure without vocals. Kamprad connects this aspect of the new version to the fact that each song originally took shape as an instrumental composition.

The conceptual world of “Innern” also takes on a different focus through the new arrangements. The album’s title, which means “inward” in German, points to a narrative shaped around suffering, transformation, silence, personal reckoning, and the fragile boundaries of the human psyche. While 'Eos' deals with sacrifice and nature reclaiming a post-human world, 'Marter' focuses on inner suffering and emotional release, while 'Xibalba' explores how fear is manufactured through media, propaganda, and spiritual fragmentation. The album’s English-language track 'Forlorn' approaches the search for emotional refuge from a more vulnerable perspective.

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“Innern (Instrumental)” will feature six tracks with a total runtime of 43 minutes and nine seconds. The track sequence is as follows:

  1. 'Marter (Instrumental)' — 09:24

  2. 'Xibalba (Instrumental)' — 10:07

  3. 'Eos (Instrumental)' — 07:30

  4. 'Fragment (Instrumental)' — 06:24

  5. 'Finisterre III (Instrumental)' — 02:00

  6. 'Forlorn (Instrumental)' — 07:44

The original version of “Innern” remains available in CD digipak, various vinyl editions, and digital formats. Production, mixing, and mastering for the album were handled by Nikita Kamprad in Würzburg, while the drums were recorded at Studio Weißmann.

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The release of “Innern (Instrumental)” comes shortly before DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT embark on a 16-date European tour running from October 16 to 31, 2026. Supported by Conjurer and Brnjsmin, the tour will take the band through Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Pre-orders and pre-saves for “Innern (Instrumental),” due digitally on September 12, are currently available via Season of Mist.

Official Website: https://derwegeinerfreiheit.de/
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