OCCULTRA’s album Heart Of The Hunter, releasing December 12th, 2025, arrives like a jolt of electricity in a scene overflowing with safe synthwave. This project doesn’t settle for neon nostalgia. Instead, it lunges into chaos, paranoia, and ritualistic energy, all while grounding itself with surprisingly catchy melodies. It’s a tense, cinematic ride through haunted corridors and dystopian fantasies.
This is a one-man project, crafted entirely in a home studio in Finland. That DIY spirit shows, not in a rough or unfinished way, but in the sense of freedom that runs through each track. OCCULTRA isn’t chasing trends or trying to fit into a neat subgenre box. The album mixes influences from GUNSHIP, Carpenter Brut, and 80s pop culture, but the sound feels personal. There is a deliberate tension between polished synth leads and jagged analog edges.
The title track, “Heart Of The Hunter,” embodies the album’s vision with its frantic energy and hook-driven vocal lines. It’s fast and chaotic, yet still melodic enough to hum along to. That balance between disorder and structure is where OCCULTRA excels. “The Faster We Go” pushes that further, stretching to more than four minutes with a breakdown that feels like a sudden descent into shadow before racing back toward the light. On the opposite emotional pole sits “Gates Of Doom,” a somber moment that gives listeners space to breathe before plunging back into adrenaline.
Across its 32-minute runtime, the project never overstays its welcome. Each track contributes to the album’s cinematic arc. OCCULTRA imagines neon-lit worlds full of elite conspiracies, occult symbols, hallucinations, and supernatural romance. The concept flirts with camp at times, but the sincerity in the production keeps it grounded. This isn’t spooky imagery for aesthetics. It feels like someone processing fear, power structures, desire, and agency through electronic sound design.
What sets Heart Of The Hunter apart is its commitment to atmosphere and narrative. Synthwave often relies on retro sheen as a shortcut to emotion. OCCULTRA takes another path. Layered synth textures, unpredictable transitions, and whispered vocal presence create unsettling emotional movement. The songs act like rituals, shifting from high-energy frenzy to trance-like immersion. You can almost imagine them scoring a dark sci-fi thriller or a neon-tinted horror film.
The self-taught engineering is another layer to appreciate. The sound feels intentional rather than over-polished. Hard edges, distorted tones, and abrupt changes work with the theme. They mirror chaotic internal landscapes, not glossy club escapism. OCCULTRA says he wanted to make music he wanted to hear, and that authenticity comes through.
While there are no live performances planned, the album feels like an invitation to a world — one built on paranoia, mysticism, and cybernetic nightmares. For listeners who want synthwave pushed beyond nostalgia into something unsettling and alive, Heart Of The Hunter is worth diving into. It’s a fever dream of sound, one that manages to be both chaotic and infectious.