Before TRAELS signed to Polderrecords for their sophomore album, there was The Abyss Within — the 2024 debut that put them on the map. Self-released at the time, it sold out fast and has been near-impossible to find on vinyl ever since. Time to fix that.

Across eight tracks, The Abyss Within moves through modern prog metal, djent-tinged riffing and post-rock, shot through with a dreamy, melancholic undercurrent. It pumps and pounds on Dark Energy Dark Matter, turns moody and introspective on Illusive, and lands its most emotional punch on the suite-like Evade Emotional Collapse — atmospheric, precise and intense, both calm and heavy. There’s real stage mileage behind the playing, and it shows: tight, layered, and never complex for its own sake.

The press took note across the board. Rock Tribune called it a “Prachtplaat!”, Dutch prog authority DPRP handed it a 9/10 (“impressive album”), and Progwereld filed it alongside the year’s heavyweights from The Ocean and Caligula’s Horse. The striking cover — dark, detailed, full of hidden elements that reward a closer look — is a reason in itself to own the LP.

Two years and a sold-out first pressing later, The Abyss Within returns on Polderrecords — repressed on vinyl and CD, back in the hands of the people who kept asking for it.

The Abyss Within (PR058) is repressed on 180gr 12″ vinyl and CD digipack. Pre-order starts Friday, November 6th, 2026, alongside the new album A Study of Absence (PR059).