African Metal United feels like the point where Poisoned Blood opened up. Built by Mwango Lunda in Zambia and released independently on 8 January 2026, the album brings together a wider cast of voices while still coming from one clear source. Across less than 40 minutes, it deals with death, decay and resistance, and gives each song enough room to speak in its own way. In the interview below, Lunda reflects on how that record came together and what he wanted it to carry.
“There is this idea that Africa is a struggling continent. But through these bands, I saw no difference between us and the outside world.”
When you first started sketching out African Metal United, what was the core idea or feeling you wanted this record to stand for within African metal?
Mwango Lunda: Even before I created my own band, before there was ever Poisoned Blood, I had already been a huge fan of many African metal bands. Just to mention a few: Facing the Gallows from South Africa, one of my favourites, Overthrust from Botswana, Wrust from Botswana, whose band members are close personal friends of mine, Raven in Flesh from Botswana, who are also friends of mine, and Eternal Katastrophy. The list is endless. There is this idea, or maybe philosophy, that Africa is a struggling continent. But through these bands, I saw no difference between us and the outside world. So I wanted to bring together the best of the best, along with those who were truly willing, to create something with a complete African metal touch.
Poisoned Blood carries a very particular mix of melody, aggression and atmosphere. How would you explain what makes this project different from other bands coming out of Zambia and the wider region?
Well, I think what makes this possible is my wide range of musical tastes. First and foremost, I am a die-hard fan of melodic death metal and metalcore. So the fusion of those styles is what mainly comes out in a Poisoned Blood release. But just because I listen to metal does not mean I limit myself to metal. I listen to old-school hip-hop, rap, slow jams, R&B, and even some local native music. I have always believed that, to become a good musician, you need proper exposure to different genres and a real appreciation for them. Certain riffs or melodies can simply come from listening to classical music.
You’re juggling instruments, vocals and the overall direction of Poisoned Blood. How do you stop it from becoming a “solo studio project” and keep it feeling like a living, breathing band?
That is a very good question, and to be honest with you, it is not easy. I do not have a formula for that one. All I do is try to make really, really good music, the kind that is not easy to brush aside once someone hears it. Sometimes, when people listen, they even forget that it is a one-man-band project. When you listen to some albums by Wintersun or Wolfheart, you completely forget they were one-man shows.
“Working with these different individuals just proved to me how much talent we have in the African metal scene.”
African Metal United brings together people from different countries and backgrounds. What did working across those borders change in the way you think about metal from Africa?
I think it confirmed what I already believed more than it changed anything. Working with these different individuals just proved to me how much talent we have in the African metal scene. Their talent is just as strong as that of other well-known and established artists. Hell, even better than some of them.
If you look at African Metal United as “chapter one” of something bigger, what is the long-term vision for Poisoned Blood over the next few releases?
I am really glad you look at it that way, as a stepping stone to something better, or chapter one, as you put it. The idea is to keep the momentum going and keep the fire burning. Recordings are already under way for the next album. Half of it will have my vocals on it, while the other half will feature some of the guys from African Metal United coming back. There will also be one newcomer from outside Africa. I am very excited to be working on the new album. Another thing is that I am not playing bass on this one. I have a friend of mine, Chaana, from a Zambian alternative rock band called Statis Prey, handling the bass parts on this record.
“metal is no longer just a Western-world thing.”
Imagine a young African metal kid stumbling on this record with zero context. What do you hope they realise about what’s possible for them when they hear African Metal United from start to finish?
The same thing I realised as a kid back in the early 2000s: metal is no longer just a Western-world thing. We have metal too. We have talent, we have vision, and we have the direction to grow even bigger and stronger.
You recorded the album in a bedroom studio and still built something that feels broad in scope and carefully assembled. What were the hardest parts of holding that whole vision together on your own?
I think the challenge was twofold. First, I am a self-taught sound engineer, so I went back and forth trying to get the right sound out of the tracks. I remember the first single from the album, “Death Comes for All”, was poorly produced, and that actually made some artists pull out, saying they did not want to be associated with poor-quality music. But that was a necessary evil, a blessing in disguise, because it made me raise my game in terms of production. I researched mixing and mastering more deeply. I experimented with this and that, through trial and error, until I got the right sound. The other challenge was getting vocalists onto the project. Some were just too busy, while others showed no interest at all. Thankfully, there were people who wholeheartedly jumped on board and stayed with it all the way to the finish line.
Each guest seems to arrive with a distinct identity, yet the album still sounds like one body of work. How did you choose the right vocalist for each song, and what did you need to hear in their voice before you knew they belonged on it?
You know what, I just wrote the music, chose artists randomly, and let them do as they pleased with the instrumentals. Yes, there were a few exceptions where I needed a certain kind of vocal on a track. A song like “Unliving”, with Donné, was always meant to have a softer touch. With Ahmed Sokkar, I had actually never heard the guy before. He was recommended to me by Mustafa from Maddox Theory. So for the most part, everything just fell into place.
This record moves through death, social decay, resistance, imperialism, inequality, and shared African experience. At what point did you realise these songs were starting to speak to each other as part of a bigger statement?
I guess this also ties in with the previous question. To be honest with you, I never saw it that way, that they were speaking to each other as part of a bigger statement, until you mentioned it. I just saw them as an album. But now that you say it, they actually do.
Tracks like “Esgoto Social” and “Rainbow of Rot” carry very specific political and social weight. When writing this album, how did you balance message and music?
The lyrics to “Rainbow of Rot” and “Esgoto Social” were written completely independently by the vocalists, without any input from me, just like most of the lyrics on that album. They blew my mind. I remember the first time Van sent the vocals back to me, there was one line that kept playing over and over in my head: “ASYMMETRY FAILS, MAFIAS REIGN…” I thought the guy was a lyrical genius. As for the other tracks, I gave the artists the freedom to write whatever the music brought out in them. The tracks I had a hand in writing were “Death Comes for All”, “Unliving”, and “Fragile Minds”, although on that last one I only wrote one line in the chorus. I would draft some lyrics, but the artists wanted to bring their own flow, and I respected that.
Buy or stream African Metal United on Bandcamp.
