Swedish industrial post-punk outfit The Below returns with the release of Immutable Behaviour on February 28, 2025. The LP, pressed on limited semi-transparent dark smoke vinyl, merges two acclaimed 2024 EPsโImmutable Decay and Behaviour in Public Placesโeach occupying a side of the record. This release marks a culmination of sonic and thematic explorations, dissecting systemic failures, war, and the grim underbelly of human nature.
Coinciding with the album drop is the premiere of Hitobito (Only the Shadows), an animated video crafted by Daniele Arcuri, known for his work with Vince Clark and Pixelgrinder. This final entry in a series of eight visual pieces from the album presents a nightmarish depiction of nuclear devastation, drawing from the seared remnants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
โHitobito (Only the Shadows)โ roots itself in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where heat and light seared human shadows into permanence while the bodies burned away. โIn some cultures, vampires are believed to be blood-drinking human monsters who do not cast shadows, perhaps as a manifestation of their lack of a soul,โ the band notes in the videoโs description. โHowever, isnโt it even more monstrous when a shadow remains but the human is missing?โ The song moves like that questionโdeliberate, heavy, its harsh industrial churn split by a thin, ghostly melody that doesnโt so much soften the blow as sharpen its edge.
Daniele Arcuri, the animator behind it, shapes the video into something surreal and jaggedโhis hands have touched work for Vince Clark and Pixelgrinder, and here he matches the trackโs mood with visuals that twist and linger. Itโs not a clean narrative; itโs a haunt, a fitting close to the eight-video arc for Immutable Behaviour.
Bo Magnusson, the force steering The Below, knows how to pull sound from the roughโscrap metal, power tools, forgotten objects hammered into shape. โInspiration can come from anywhereโa strange sound, machinery, everyday objects, or just a walk in the forest,โ he says, his words grounded in decades of kicking around Swedenโs underground.
Magnusson cut his teeth in the โ80s with Dr. Evil and The Boys From Below, a crew that turned stages into scrapyardsโpig skulls, wire fencing, levitating washing machines.
โWe were known for chaotic performances,โ he recalls. That was before a long break, a retreat from music after the group split in 1992. He resurfaced in 2015 with The Below, sparked by old instruments and salvaged junk, nudged along by his sonโs own sonic dabbling. Hanningโs voice on this track slots into that lineage, a collaboration that pulls the personal into the vastโhere, the indelible marks of historyโs violence.
The Below frames Immutable Behaviour as a split lens: one half, Immutable Decay, stares down societal rotโwar, corruption, a planet bucklingโwhile Behaviour in Public Places, where โHitobitoโ sits, turns inward. โIt explores the darker aspects of the human psyche,โ Magnusson says, and this track fits that mold, its lyrics and sound a meditation on absence and monstrosity. Think of those stone-etched shadowsโnot as relics, but as warnings. โA hauntingly foreboding track,โ they call it, and the delicate thread woven through its industrial weight makes it stick.
“I thinkย theย artwork reflectsย theย albumโs general themes of decay, conflict, and human nature, creating a bridge toย the music and lyrics.” – says Bo.
“There is a lot of symbolism in theย various elements, which echoย theย albumโs two lyrical perspectivesโone addressing broad societal issues andย theย other exploringย theย complexities of human behaviour. While it doesnโt directly reference specific lines,ย theย artwork encapsulatesย the albumโs overarching message: a world unraveling, both externally and within.”
โIโm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but after trading the hectic city life for a more relaxed pace in the countryside, Iโve largely lost touch with the local underground scene,โ Bo Magnusson reflects.
โWhen I worked as a concert promoter in Malmรถ, we made a point of featuring local artists as opening acts whenever possible, so I knew almost everyone.โ While many of those bands are still active, new names have emergedโsome of which Magnusson has kept an eye on.
Abu Nein
Thereโs been quite a buzz about this band lately, and rightfully so. Darkwave at its finest.
Angst Session
Dark, slow, and hypnotic.
Massiv Ovilja
An experimental electronic, one-man project.
Idiot Child
Sludgy noise rockโhard and abrasive.
M:onitor
A new progressive industrial band formed by veterans of the electronic scene.
Here’es the full track by track rundown for “Immutable Bahaviour“:
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Tabla Motors
The opening track, “Tabla Motors”, captures the essence of ageing and the inevitable approach of death. The lyrics paint a picture of a troubled, threatening world where chaos and uncertainty reign. The once-revered gods are now abandoned, their temples crumbling into dust. In their place, new belief systems arise, offering hope and solace to weary souls seeking meaning amid the turmoil. The melody is tense yet beautiful, serving as a poignant reminder of the passage of time and the ever-changing landscape of faith and existence.
Knives and Heights
“Knives and Heights” is all about the intensity of fear and the traumas it can cause. The verses are just little snapshots of eerie things. The chorus was inspired by something actor Cary Grant’s grandmother once told a reporter about her grandson: “He was a nervous child with two primary fears: knives and heights”. Then we just added one more fear: fluorescent lights.”
Hitobito (Only the Shadows)
In some cultures, vampires are believed to be blood-drinking human monsters who do not cast shadows, perhaps as a manifestation of their lack of a soul. However, isn’t it even more monstrous when a shadow remains but the human is missing? โHitobito (Only the Shadows)โ is a hauntingly foreboding track based on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the shadows of the victims were etched into stone. In contrast to the slow, grinding, harsh industrial sounds, a gentle yet infectious melody adds a captivating dimension to the song.
Heebie-Jeebies Sรผssigkeit
The lyrics explore our various facades, highlighting how each individual possesses thoughts and emotions not always apparent to others. Simultaneously, the life and actions of John Wayne Gacy serve as an extreme example, illustrating the extent to which a person can conceal integral aspects of themselves.
Grind Me Down
“Grind Me Down” is a very straightforward text about how we live in a time where people tend to ‘find the truth’ in filter bubbles where they seem to lose all common sense. The conclusion is always the same: the rest of us are misled fools who need to ‘educate ourselves’. The filter bubble grinds these people down while simultaneously winding them up. A dangerous combination.
90 Seconds to Midnight
The destruction of our planet is becoming increasingly evident as environmental crises and climate-related disasters follow one another with growing intensity. Meanwhile, corruption, populism, and unbridled capitalism stand in the way of meaningful efforts to reverse our planetโs decline.
Artificial Lights (Dystopian Haze)
This oneโs about the horrors of Russiaโs brutal assault on Ukraine, and the uncertainty of being forced to live in bomb shelters. The video for the track was filmed in Lviv, Ukraine, by an all-Ukrainian team. Kate Tiuri, the director of the video, commented on the production, stating: โWar doesnโt stop culture! We continue to stand, to speak, and to create. In this musical piece, I want to convey that tragedy can exist alongside beauty. We demonstrate the beauty of Ukraine through danceโa contemporary duet that embodies the strength, resilience, pain, and indomitability of the Ukrainian people.โ
No Place is Safe
Originally, this track was written about the Israeli assault on Gaza in 2014. Sadly, the harrowing realities of war have only worsened for the Palestinian population, and the line โNo Place is Safeโ tragically rings truer today than ever before.
17 Days
A news story reported on a young man who was incarcerated because he couldnโt afford to pay a minor traffic ticket. In jail, he was denied his medication, and despite being under constant 24/7 surveillance, no one noticed his rapid deterioration. He lasted only 17 days in prisonโmurder by negligence; no one was held accountable. The actual surveillance footage is among the most horrifying I have ever seen.
Immutable Decay (Outro)
The album concludes with a never-ending reflection on humanity’s failure to learn from history, caught in an endless loop of repeating the same mistakes.
