Six months after Christopher Lee’s 'Elenore', Damien Cain releases new album 'Standarte'

Following “Elenore” with Christopher Lee, Damien Cain returns with Standarte, an atmospheric album shaped by reflection, rock and melancholy.

MOUNTMELLICK, LAOIS, IRELAND, December 16, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Six months after the release of Elenore, the Edgar Allan Poe–inspired song performed by the late Sir Christopher Lee, songwriter and artist Damien Cain returns with a very different, yet thematically connected work: his new album Standarte.

Where Elenore explored gothic literature through Lee’s unmistakable voice, Standarte shifts the focus inward. The album is a deeply personal collection of songs that blends alternative rock, melodic heaviness and atmospheric textures, shaped by reflection, memory and a quiet sense of reckoning.

Cain, a German-born artist now living in Ireland, has long moved between artistic worlds. In the early 2000s, his project CAIN achieved international underground success with the track Age of Darkness, which sold over 250,000 copies and received the Impala Diamond Award. Since then, Cain has worked extensively as a lyricist and composer, including the German chart hit "Dein Herz" for L’Âme Immortelle, before gradually retreating from the spotlight.

Standarte marks a deliberate return: not as a revival of past success, but as a reassessment. Written over several years and completed in 2024–2025, the album reflects on identity, belief, loss and personal responsibility. The songs move between restrained melancholy and powerful, guitar-driven passages, allowing space for contrast rather than pursuing stylistic cohesion at all costs.

The album was mixed and mastered at Dublin’s Hellfire Studio with Ivan Jackman, known for his work with Hozier, Sinéad O’Connor and The Dubliners. Musicians from Ireland, the UK, Finland, Argentina, Brazil, Germany and the United States contributed to the recordings, giving Standarte a subtle international character without losing its intimate core.

Despite its range, the album is held together by Cain’s voice and lyrical perspective — reflective, direct and often deliberately ambiguous. Tracks such as Fascinating Face introduce a heavier, modern alternative rock sound, while others lean into quieter, almost contemplative spaces. Throughout the record, Cain avoids nostalgia, even when referencing earlier creative periods. Instead, Standarte feels concerned with the present moment and the weight of personal history.

The title itself suggests both direction and stance. In German, “Standarte” refers to a banner or standard, something that represents position and identity. For Cain, the album functions in a similar way: not as a manifesto, but as a marker of where he stands artistically today.

Early reactions have already come from Irish radio, where Fascinating Face was described by station KCLR as “vibrant and engaging”. International press has begun to take notice as well, particularly following the attention surrounding Elenore and Cain’s collaboration with Christopher Lee.

Standarte is released on December 12, across all major streaming platforms and as CD and Vinyl Record via the artist's website. Rather than chasing trends or revisiting former achievements, the album presents itself as a measured, thoughtful statement, a work shaped by experience, distance and an enduring commitment to songwriting as a form of reflection.

[Interviews and review copies available upon request.]

Marc Sieper
Audio-To-Go Publishing Ltd.
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Damien Cain – Fascinating Face | From the album Standarte

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