'Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes' is an album born from descent, both lived and imagined!
Mar 17, 2026
|
4
min read
A Dream of Poe is a Symphonic Doom Metal project founded in 2005 by Miguel Santos in Ponta Delgada (Azores, Portugal).
The project has developed a substantial and consistent work, comprising four studio albums, two EPs, two live albums, one single, and one demo.
Although primarily a solo project, A Dream of Poe would not exist without the contribution of numerous musicians who, under the artistic direction of Miguel Santos, bring their own artistic voice to the project, enriching its sound and emotional depth.
Musically, A Dream of Poe blends the weight and melancholy of doom metal with rich orchestral arrangements and literary inspiration.
Live performances are rare, but when they occur they are conceived as true celebrations of Doom Metal.
Recently the project enters its most focused and mature creative phase, redefining its symphonic doom identity through loss, resilience, and monumental orchestration - where “descent itself becomes the act of creation.”
'Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes' is an album born from descent, both lived and imagined.
In very real terms, it emerged from a personal catastrophe. A devastating fire erased a home, a life and memories built within previously safe walls, and nearly all of the music written for this record.
From the ashes, only one song survived: The Lament of Phaethon. Everything else had to be rebuilt from nothing: instruments, ideas, songs, and identity.
This forced rebirth shaped not only the sound of the album, but the very reason for its existence.
Conceptually, Katabasis follows a parallel descent into darkness. Drawing from ancient Greek myth, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and tragic cosmology, the album tells the story of a sickly and disillusioned character (represented throughout the album as celestial bodies, a child, and a man and murderer) who seeks relief from suffering through a ritual descent into the underworld.
What begins as a search for transcendence becomes an encounter with absolute void: an inner barren desert of ash, solitude, fear, and unanswered prayers.
Faced with the inevitability of meaninglessness, the character ultimately surrenders, merging with the ashes in a final and violent union: a “marriage” sealed through destruction.
Across these paths runs the unifying idea of union through collapse, union in destruction, fear, and in suffering.
While the concept embraces nihilism and the inevitability of death, the album’s creation itself stands in tension with that worldview. 'Katabasis: A Marriage Among Ashes' exists because something was rebuilt where nothing should have remained. It's both an artistic descent into the void and a real-world testament to survival; an album forged where loss and creation meet, and where ashes become the foundation for something new.
Stream / Buy / Download the album on Bandcamp
All songs written, composed, arranged, orchestrated, and produced by Miguel Santos, except “The Wail of Gaea”, written by Ruben Correia and Miguel Santos.
All lyrics and album concept by Paulo Pacheco.
All instruments performed and recorded by Miguel Santos, except:
Drums on “The Lament of Phaethon” – Gualter Couto
Bass on “The Lament of Phaethon” – Nuno Carreiro
All guitar solos – Ruben Correia
Violin on “The Lament of Phaethon” and “Lamia” – Ruben Correia
Vocals:
Tracks 1–4 – Kaivan Saraei
Tracks 5–6 – João Melo
Spoken words on “Exhorting Nightmares” by António Neves.
Growls on "The Lament of Phaethon" by Miguel Santos
Samples on “À Medida de Damastes” by BrivaMagda, pseudonymian, TyrantTim, waxsocks, and martian, made freely available under Creative Commons 0 via Freesound.org.
Written between 2021 and 2024.
Recorded between 2024 and 2025.
Mixed and Mastered by Miguel Santos in January 2026 at THE TELL-TALE STUDIOS.
Artwork and design by Elis Morgue.
Photography by Miguel Santos and Andreia Pereira.
All rights reserved. A Dream Of Poe & Meuse Music Records - 2026.
A Dream Of Poe:
Thank you very much Meuse Music Records
I am not the owner of the picture, video or original song. Therefore, all rights belong to their respective owners. If you are the owner of the picture, video or any of the songs, write me a private message located on the information page and I will delete the video, photos immediately!!
Photo by © S&N Intercut Films
