Ukrainian symphonic death metal band IGNEA have revealed that the studio where they recorded their upcoming album, Monumental, suffered damage during a recent Russian strike on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
The news arrives only days after the group officially announced that Monumental will be released on October 23 via Napalm Records, marking a new chapter for a band that has spent much of its career creating music under the shadow of war.
In a video shared on social media, vocalist Helle Bohdanova documented the aftermath inside the facility used to record the album. The footage shows shattered windows, damaged structures, debris scattered across the building and visible signs of destruction caused by the blast waves.
During the tour of the facility, Bohdanova explained the historical importance of the location and detailed the losses caused by the attack.
“So, we're now at our HQ. It's located in a very historical spot. Oldest film studio of Ukraine. And tonight, it has been attacked, among other locations in Kyiv. The biggest and oldest costume studio, where we actually took costumes for one of the videos that you're gonna see next week, has been destroyed completely. Windows at our HQ have been open. This is the mood board for our album. Yikes. We are quite lucky that this building hasn't been destroyed. But all the windows have been opened. We don't know if they are still okay. And I guess that that one has been destroyed. That's a shatter. This was from the mood board.”
The band's official statement further described the reality of continuing to create music while living through the ongoing conflict.
“What’s it like to be a metal band in Kyiv, Ukraine? Something like this. We survived another night of ballistic missiles, drones, explosions, uncertainty, absence of sleep. Our studio, in which we recorded our upcoming album Monumental, has been damaged. The costumes you’ll see in the next music video, have been destroyed, along with the oldest costume studio in Ukraine. One more day of almost 5 years of a full-scale war.”
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, numerous cultural institutions, recording facilities, museums, theaters and artistic spaces throughout Ukraine have suffered damage or destruction. Despite those challenges, artists across the country have continued working while documenting the impact of the war on everyday life and cultural production.
At the time of writing, the band has not indicated whether the damage will affect the album's release schedule or upcoming promotional plans. However, the footage shared by IGNEA offers another stark reminder of the challenges faced by Ukrainian musicians as they continue their work amid an ongoing war.
