Vanitas released their new single “The Great Unknown” on 28 October 2026, following the UK progressive metal band’s headline appearance at Bloodstock Festival. The track is available to stream and download through Bandcamp, and is presented as a song about mental health, confronting fear and moving beyond emotional paralysis.
The single pairs soaring vocals with technical guitar melodies and orchestral passages that the band describes as its signature “boss-battle” style. Its lyrics focus on comparison, frustration and the difficulty of letting go, returning to the refrain “Into the great unknown” before closing on the idea of facing uncertainty until a sense of home is found.
From Bloodstock to Bandcamp
Vanitas headlined Bloodstock’s EMP Stage in 2026, building on live appearances with Monuments, Voyager, Galactic Empire and Destrage. BBC Radio 1 also named the band one of its acts to watch during the year. The new song follows the group’s 2025 EP “Journey to the Sun” and is accompanied by a music video, according to the announcement.
The Birmingham band describes its music as UK cinematic progressive metal. Its sound combines progressive metal, djent and orchestral elements, with influences including Periphery, Protest the Hero, Dream Theater and Devin Townsend, alongside video-game composers Nobuo Uematsu and Motoi Sakuraba.
A growing Bandcamp catalogue
Vanitas have 17 releases available through their Bandcamp catalogue. “The Great Unknown” can be downloaded in 24-bit/48kHz audio, while the full digital discography includes “Nobody”, “Journey to the Sun”, “Eclipse”, “Lucid Dreams”, “Your Demise”, “Wait and See” and “Chaos Theory”. The single was written by Mitchell Jay Barlow and Elijah Storer, with music and lyrics by Jade Marissa Grundy.
