Singled Out: MONO INC.'s In My Darkness

08-18-2025

German goth rock band MONO INC. just released their new album 'Darkness,' and to celebrate we asked Martin Engler to tell us about the song "In My Darkness". Here is the story:

I'm happy to share a few words about our first single "In My Darkness" from our upcoming album Darkness. Contrary to what some might expect, this song is not about glorifying darkness in a superficial way. Nor is the story behind it about wasting away in the dark - in fact, it's about the opposite: a journey into the light. And I'd like to explain that a little more.

A few years ago, I realized I couldn't continue living the way I had been. My everyday life was overshadowed by fear, exhaustion, flashbacks, and somatic symptoms. That's when I began trauma therapy and started to clean up my entire life. After four years of intense inner work, I have to admit - it was the hardest, most painful, yet also the most beautiful and liberating thing I've ever done and still do.

I know the darkness, our song speaks of. But even more than that, I've come to understand that the light within me carried me through my darkest hours - and it just keeps getting brighter every day.

I think it's so important to talk about these kinds of experiences. Mental illness and developmental trauma are still heavily stigmatized in our society, even though it's been clearly shown how much suffering people endure. If we approached these topics more openly, it would make everything so much easier.

Over the last few years, I found out how many people go through their lives wearing a mask, silently suffering inside day by day without giving up.

I truly believe that there's no one on this planet who hasn't experienced pain and suffering at some point. Many have endured deep wounds, often starting in childhood. Some people are fortunate enough to have had someone by their side during those dark times - someone to talk to, to grieve with, to help process the pain. But many others have not.
That's why I'm a strong advocate for psychotherapy. I don't see anything negative about it - as long as you find a therapist with whom you can connect and work well. The only negative aspect is the lack of access: there are too few therapists, and many people can't afford it. To me, that's a huge scandal, because I believe good therapy and meaningful conversations could genuinely make the world a better place.

As it stands, many people carry their burdens in silence, navigating life on their own. And that brings us back to our song "In My Darkness." Whether someone was lucky enough to have support, or had to face unimaginable pain completely alone - maybe even as a child - one thing remains true: we were the ones who walked through the valley. No one else did it for us.
We survived.

That's a sign of incredible strength. It means that even in the darkest hours, there was a small light within us - a light that kept on shining, carried us through, kept us alive and that light... is us.

If you consider the law of polarity - that darkness can only exist where there is also light - then we know for certain there has always been and will always be some spark of light within us.

I think it's absolutely admirable what many people have endured - and still they keep moving forward.

That's why I believe that the darkness inside us has a right to be acknowledged (and we should validate it instead of pushing it away). But we also have every right to celebrate and appreciate the light within us.

We're allowed to be proud of ourselves.

Most people are far stronger than they realize. In my world, We are all heroes.

This song is an ode to all those strong heroes out there.

"We can always shine for ourselves - because we've done it so many times before."

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here