Wake Up To The Powerful Ghost Punk Of HAUNTU ‘The Knife’

Cult Nation premiere Hauntu’s new video for ‘The Knife’ and speak with vocalist Rebecca about the new album, ‘’The Unknown Reigns’.

I’m listening to the new single from HAUNTU, and their video for “The Knife” has my mind chasing the dragons of an older time. Every day I wake up and wonder what kind of world my kids are getting ready to inherit, and if they can handle it, or if they can make it better. But why is that their burden? Why do we make the next generations the fixers of the future, rather than making the decisions today that will make their lives better? As the urgent, haunting post-punk of this track winds it’s way through my brain, I’m reminded that I’m not insane for seeing the messaging onslaught that wants to wash me clean of any thoughts that challenge a sick system of manipulation, division, and death. The powerful vocals on “The Knife” are like a wake up call, while the percussion beats my bones like my thudding heart. “The Knife” is off their upcoming record The Unknown Reigns, out November 14, 2025 via Sell The Heart Records (U.S.) and Engineer Records (U.K.) — pre-order it here.

Watch Hauntu’s new video for “The Knife” below.

(Megan / Cult Nation).

https://cvltnation.com/wake-up-to-the-powerful-ghost-punk-of-hauntu-the-knife/

 ‘The Knife’ is about humanity and our realisation as to the kind of world mankind has created for itself. We find ourselves at a precipice and coming to terms with how we’ve structured and engineered a world built upon so much pain, suffering, oppression, and exploitation. It all comes at a cost and whether we pay that now or later, I think we are all collectively feeling like we are on the verge of finding out sooner rather than later, even if it might feel like a knife to the heart. – Rebecca, vocals (Hauntu)

‘The Knife’ lyrics:

This is where we will find, this is where we’ll draw the line. This is how we’ll decide we’ve been pushed to fight with wide eyes at the sky. Can it withstand the test of time? Deny that we pay the price to hide behind the mirror in the sky. This is where we will find that the trees, they don’t lie. Should we rise or push it further down the line? We pay the price to hide behind the mirror in the sky, deny. My guts inside defy comfort for the knife. We pay the price or we can just stay down or it’ll all come down. It all comes down. Just stay down. We pay the price to hide behind the mirror in the sky. Deny, my guts inside defy the knife. We pay the price with your lives.

Debut full length album "The Unknown Reigns" by San Diego ghost-punk band Hauntu (pronounced Hawn-too) releases November 14, 2025. 

Coming hot off the heels of their 2024 EP "I" on Sell the Heart Records which garnered a nomination for Best Indie/Alternative in the San Diego Music Awards, Hauntu returns with ten beautifully furious songs about living through late stage capitalism and finding themselves at the precipice of a fascist state. 

From the relentless opening down-stroked guitars of Crooked Teeth, to the thunderous drums of All's Well (in Hell) marching you through the apocalypse, the overarching themes throughout are both poignant and apt.

Rebecca's distinctive vocals have drawn comparisons ranging from Patti Smith to Glen Danzig (WTF?), but there's something wholly unique about her approach that is raw, emotive, and vulnerable in contrast with the otherwise aggressive instrumentation.

Hauntu's sound is both cathartic and thought-provoking, unapologetically confronting the darkness that plagues humanity. It's a little goth, a little 90's, with hints of metal, and a whole lotta punk as fuck (in the ethical sense).

Available on 12" Coke Bottle Clear with Red (Colour-in-colour) via Sell The Heart Records (U.S.) and Engineer Records (U.K.)

Vinyl limited to 200 units pressed.

Also available on CD and Digital Download.