EPK – Liminal Spirit – Unwell (2025)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“My goal with this record is to explore ideas that represent some of my greatest fears. Given my previous experience in nursing homes from a former job, I can tell you they are the most miserable places on Earth, and I would hate to spend my final days there. I also couldn’t imagine the loss of my own faculties and have a lingering fear of spiritual judgment when passing on to the next plane.” – Liminal Spirit
For fans of Skepticism, Jesu, Confessor, Cynic, Anata
Band: Liminal Spirit
EP Title: Unwell
Release Date: October 31, 2025
Label: Self-Release
Genre: Doom Metal with Cinematic Storytelling
Location: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Facebook.com/people/Liminal-Spirit/61575618106702/ | Instagram.com/liminal_spirit_mke
Liminalspirit.bandcamp.com | Spotify
“The title track from this latest concept EP – being released on Halloween – from Milwaukee-based multi-instrumentalist Jerry Hauppa is an appropriately unsettling exploration of themes such as memory, guilt and spiritual reckoning delivered via a fusion of progressive doom metal with avant-garde narrative techniques, crafting what the composer and musician describes as “seance music”, a genre-defying sonic ritual meant to stir movement between spiritual realms:” – THE ÜBER RÖCK SINGLES CLUB DAILY PICK – LIMINAL SPIRIT (Oct 11, 2025)
“It’s dense. It’s dark. It demands your full attention. But give it that, and you’ll walk away changed—or at least slightly disturbed. Fans of Skepticism, Kayo Dot, or anyone who enjoys having their psyche gently disassembled: this one’s for you.”- Metalpapyjeff
Track Listing:
1. Admittance (5:27)
2. Unwell (6:52) (single)
3. Visiting Day (8:01)
4. EOLC (8:26)
5. A Better Place (5:42) (single)
EP Credits:
All songs written, performed, produced, and mixed by Jerry Hauppa.
Mastered by Jeff Wojtysiak at Spiral Sound Mastering
Lineup:
Jerry Hauppa – Guitar, microtonal guitar, bass, violin, synth, vocoder, drum programming
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About the EP Artwork:
The artwork shows the first-person perspective of the main character, Phillip, an elderly dementia patient confined in a nursing home, who is haunted by the spirits of two young children.
About The EP – LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY:
The album starts with the main character, Phillip, being admitted into a nursing home by his two children, Jonathon and Madeline. Phillip is aware that his memory and body are failing, and hopes he was a good enough man to have a rewarding afterlife. He is haunted by the spirits of two children who claim he murdered them years ago. Phillip recalls nothing of the events and doesn’t believe he could do such a thing. During the climax of the record, Phillip is killed by the vengeful spirits, then is cast into hell in the epilogue of the record. The music on the record reflects the uncertainty and horror Phillip feels along the way, and there are multiple calls back to an old song, “Welcome to My World,” by Jim Reeves, that anchor the themes of possession felt through the release.
Track By Track – LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY:
1. Admittance- Phillip is admitted into the nursing home by his children, Jonathon and Madeline. The song feels clean and jazz-inspired, then ends with Jonathon playing Phillip’s favorite song, “Welcome to My World,” to comfort him.
2. Unwell- Phillip ruminates on his own character and loneliness, not knowing who he is or what events contributed to his life. The music is disjointed to reflect his mental state, composed on microtonal guitars to create an alien feeling. The sound is more distorted than on “Admittance,” and the level of distortion increases with each subsequent track, leading to the album’s climax and epilogue.
3. Visiting Day- Phillip longs for a visit from his children, who checked him into the nursing home, but instead is visited by the ghosts of two children who claim that he was responsible for their deaths years ago. The music shifts to reflect a sinister presence. They tell him they will return in three days and that he is to repent in the meantime, but he has no recollections of the actions of which they speak.
4. EOLC- The vengeful ghosts return after three days and make Phillip relive the events of their deaths at his hands. He is physically tortured and killed by them, as the music becomes more sinister and violent.
5. A Better Place- Phillip passes into a purgatory where he is judged for his actions, and ultimately cast into hell. The music shifts to reflect the environment as evil, oppressive, and hopeless. The descent into hell is mimicked with a chromatic descending passage.
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FUN FACTS:
Three of the five tracks are composed and performed on a microtonal guitar, which gives the songs a foreboding and alien sound that helps flesh out the themes.
Jerry Hauppa – Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Drum Programming, Synthesizer
Liminal Spirit is a solo project by Milwaukee-based multi-instrumentalist Jerry Hauppa (also known for his work with Deorbit), known for his progressive doom/avant-garde metal and “seance music” designed to channel spiritual passage. He returns in 2025 with his third EP since his self-titled debut in 2023.
Titled “Unwell,” this five-track EP delves into haunting themes of memory, guilt, and spiritual confrontation. By blending progressive doom metal with experimental storytelling, Hauppa conjures what he calls “seance music”, a boundary-pushing sonic ritual designed to evoke shifts between spiritual dimensions. Enhancing its spectral and unsettling aura, three of the tracks feature microtonal guitar work, imbuing the EP with a unique dissonance and ghostly resonance.
“My goal with this record is to explore ideas that represent some of my greatest fears. Having worked in nursing homes, I’ve seen firsthand how miserable they can be. The thought of losing my faculties and facing spiritual judgment terrifies me—and that’s what I wanted to capture,” says Hauppa.
For fans of Skepticism, Jesu, Confessor, Cynic, and Anata, “Unwell” will be available on all major streaming platforms on October 31st, 2025.
Discography:
2024-Liminal Spirit EP
2025-Pathways EP
2025-Unwell EP
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