PALE • The Night, The Dawn And What Remains • LP
A band that no longer exists releases a new album. We have become accustomed to this: dissolution, waiting for time to contribute to the formation of legends, the announcement of a reunion, and reaping the rewards. However, we earnestly ask not to evaluate this return like so many others before. This is not a reunion; it is something different.
PALE, disbanded in 2009 and last performed together in 2012 for a farewell show, will release their final album at the end of 2022. "The Night, The Dawn And What Remains" was literally written by life. And as we know, the stories life writes are often the most beautiful. But also the saddest.
November 25, 2019, is the day everything changes. Guitarist, singer, and "the only real musician in the band," Christian Dang-Anh, is diagnosed with a brain tumor. On the exact same day, drummer Stephan Kochs, the band's drummer and brother of singer Holger Kochs, also receives a diagnosis that forces him to completely overhaul his life if he wants to live.
Despite all the disbelief and concern during this time, the two closely intertwined blows lead the various band members who played in PALE between 1993 and 2009 to reconnect. The idea of making music together again quickly emerges. Not for anyone to hear, but to relive the time when they were so alive and boundless together. Only Stephan Kochs has to abstain from active participation due to health reasons.
Despite intense cancer treatments, Christian writes, plays, and sings on new songs that come together with unprecedented ease. Maybe they could even release a song together, maybe go on tour one more time? But the finiteness becomes painfully clear when Christian loses the battle against the disease in May 2021.
PALE decides to complete the recordings they started together. Over two years of work and love are poured into the songs, created with the awareness that these are the last songs they will ever write together.
Now, on November 25, 2022 - coincidentally, exactly three years to the day of the two diagnoses - the fifth official and definitively last album by PALE will be released. "The Night, The Dawn And What Remains" is a celebration of life and what was. On September 16, 2022, the first two singles from the album will be released. "Bigger Than Life" is the poignant farewell to Christian and the promise to forever cherish his memory. It's not a sad ballad but a pulsating hit with guitars, pianos, and brass.
"Man of 20 Lives" is the anthem to the older brother. A thank you to the one who always leads, with whom one clashes but still loves. For the one who survived. They are two musical monuments. This is not a reunion; it is a well-deserved victory lap.
Tracklist: 01 Wherever You Will Go 02 Tonight (We Can Be Everything) 03 New York 04 Man Of 20 Lives 05 Bigger Than Life 06 All The Good Good Things 07 Still You Feel 08 500 Songs 09 Wake Up! 10 Someday You Will Know