Witchcraft – Magnus Pelander
Witchcraft don’t simply return with Idag—they arrive. After greater than twenty years of forging a path by means of Sweden’s doom underground and past, IDAG is the total accounting: a convergence of all the pieces the band has been, and a glimpse of what they may nonetheless grow to be.
Streaming in full under forward of its Might 23 launch by way of Heavy Psych Sounds, Idag is Witchcraft’s seventh album and the long-awaited reply to a discography outlined by stressed evolution. From the analog-seeking spellcraft of their 2004 self-titled debut by means of the progressive depths of The Alchemist, the trendy riff heft of Legend, and the acoustic minimalism of Black Steel, founding guitarist and vocalist Magnus Pelander has by no means stood nonetheless.
Idag—Swedish for “at this time”—ties all of it collectively. It opens with the heaviest observe they’ve ever recorded (the eight-minute title observe), struts by means of ’70s-styled swagger on “Irreligious Flamboyant Flame,” and weaves in acoustic-based items like “Om Du Vill” and “Gläntan (Längtan),” which channel a soulfully folkish doom spirit that feels each historic and private. This isn’t revivalism—it’s refinement.
Pelander, who dealt with manufacturing and wrote all of the music and lyrics, calls it plainly: “This album will reap souls and destroy depraved minds. And maybe mend a few damaged ones.” There’s a wink within the phrasing—a nod to Coven’s 1969 proto-doom relic Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls—however there’s additionally reality. IDAG performs like a end result, a reckoning, a thesis. Not simply one other Witchcraft document. The Witchcraft document.
Stream the album in full under and preorder Idag now by way of Heavy Psych Sounds on LP, CD, cassette, and digital codecs. Then, go sit within the woods for some time and attempt to make sense of what you simply heard.
