WITCHERY Release Seventh Studio Album ‘I Am Legion’
November 10th, 2017
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Swedish thrash metal band Witchery issue seventh full-length studio album I Am Legion on November 10th, 2017 through Century Media Records.
Guitarist Patrik Jensen commented: “The first few days after the release of ‘Nosferatu’ (the first single from 2016’s In His Infernal Majesty’s Service album) I was quite taken aback. There had been so many years between the releases of Don’t Fear The Reaper and Witchkrieg (four years) and then an additional six more years between Witchkrieg and In His Infernal Majesty’s Service that I hardly thought anyone remembered Witchery anymore.
“We got our shit together for In His Infernal Majesty’s Service in order to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary. We wrote new songs and got a few new members so we could make the album happen and have it released in 2016. But that was the goal; to merely celebrate the band’s 20 years of existence. Then, after ‘Nosferatu’ was released, this massive wave of appreciation started to surface. When the full album dropped in November 2016 we experienced a surge of positive feedback on the rest of the album as well. I mean, we all loved the album and knew it was good, but we were thrilled to see that also other people heard what we heard; that it was a great album and that this line-up had both the chops and riffs needed, displaying them with an enthusiasm and bravado perhaps not seen since maybe the early days of the band’s existence!
“This feedback of positive energy set things in motion within the band. Remembering our promise from somewhere around the release of the Dead, Hot And Ready album that we would put out two albums a year (youthful hubris, anyone?), we thought to ourselves: ‘Let’s try to put out a new album within a year of the release of In His Infernal Majesty’s Service’. Said and done.
“So here we are. It’s August 2017, and we are very happy and immensely proud to announce I Am Legion, the new full-length follow-up album to 2016’s In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, scheduled for release on November 10th! With I Am Legion having the same line-up, the same studio (Dugout Studios) and the same producer (Danne Bergstrand) as on In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, you just know that this will be yet another sonic fist-to-the-face riffage offering! We think In His Infernal Majesty’s Service is a great album, but we also think I Am Legion takes everything up a notch or two!
“We are very excited about I Am Legion and we hope this release shows that Witchery, albeit after 20 years of existence, isn’t going to fade away. On the contrary, Witchery is more likely entering the most productive phase yet in the band’s career!”
I Am Legion was produced and mixed by Daniel Bergstrand at Dugout Studios in Uppsala, Sweden.
Cover artwork duties fell to Andreas Diaz Pettersson.
The track listing is as follows:
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01. ‘Legion’
02. ‘True North’
03. ‘Welcome, Night’
04. ‘Of Blackened Wing’
05. ‘Dry Bones’
06. ‘Amun-Ra’
07. ‘Seraphic Terror’
08. ‘A Faustian Deal’
09. ‘An Unexpected Guest’
10. ‘Great Northern Plague’
11. ‘The Alchemist’
12. ‘Ragnarök’ (CD digipak bonus track)
13. ‘Apex Ghoul’ (CD digipak bonus track)
Witchery’s line-up is as follows:
Angus Norder (vocals, Nekrokraft)
Rickard Rimfält (lead guitar, ex-Satanic Slaughter / ex-Seance)
Patrik Jensen (rhythm guitar, The Haunted / ex-Satanic Slaughter / ex-Seance)
Sharlee D’Angelo (bass, Mercyful Fate / ex-Arch Enemy / ex-Spiritual Beggars / ex-The Night Flight Orchestra)
Chris Barkensjö (drums, Lik / ex-Kaamos / ex-The Resistance)
Music videos were filmed for the tracks ‘Of Blackened Wing’ and ‘Welcome, Night’.
Regarding ‘Welcome, Night’, Patrik Jensen commented: “On I Am Legion we have tried a few things that Witchery never has done before. ‘Welcome, Night’, with its odd timing, atypical arrangement and with riffs that are meant to enhance the vocals / lyrics (and not the other way around as per usual) makes the song probably my favourite track on the album.
“I like how the lyrics turned out too. They might lead you to think about a certain infamous incident in history, but I chose to place it in ‘the year 1855’ to distance the song from that, yet keeping it in the same Victorian setting. I got a question from a journalist if the lyrics somehow were about ‘the Devil’s footprints’ that happened that specific year. They’re not connected, but I can recommend looking up that particular incident. Pretty interesting. Please enjoy the contribution of our two great friends – Nick Barker’s [Lock Up / Ancient / Brujeria] spoken word and Mike Wead’s [Mercyful Fate / King Diamond / Hexenhaus] solo – in the song as well!”
In addition, an animated music video was created for the song ‘True North’.
All three clips can also be viewed below.
Sixth studio record In His Infernal Majesty’s Service was released in November 2016.
Promotional photograph by Michaela Barkensjö.
