***NOTE: This is a single track only but this song will appear on the upcoming full-length release "Kaer Morhen" available April 19.
Pre-orders soon!***
Hypnotic Dirge is excited to announce a new collaboration with the Melodic Black Metal band HEKSEBLAD for the release of their debut album "Kaer Morhen", a two-man black metal project from Michigan and Massachusetts, USA.
In the waning months of the cursed year 2020, as the seasons changed to the cold, dark months of winter, two long time friends joined forces to create HEKSEBLAD, a Melodic Black metal band who would soon take the underground by storm. Bruxa, a vocalist and songwriter from Michigan handles the lore and storytelling of the duo's music (also of the Dungeon Synth projects Witch's Amulet, Fanged Imp, Bruxa and the Atmospheric Blackened Doom Metal band Oaken Palace), while Frosk, a multi-instrumentalist and Studio owner from Massachusetts handles guitars, bass and the entire production process (Frosk also currently plays guitar and writes music for the New England Death Metal bands Frog Mallet and Groaning Retch, while also releasing Black Metal under an eponymous solo project). Bonded by their mutual love for Old School Death and second wave Black Metal the pairing soon proved to be fruitful and prosperous, releasing a handful of EP, splits, and demos before hunkering down in 2023 to prepare the release of their debut full-length "Kaer Morhen".
Drawing lyrical inspiration from the works of Andrezj Sapkowski's beloved Fantasy franchise “The Witcher” and musically recalling the days of true Black Metal glory (namely the likes of Emperor, Dissection, Gorgoroth and Obtained Enslavement), HEKSEBLAD delivers a furious and magickal take on the sound of late 90’s Black Metal; balancing on the edge of melodic but malicious with their furious barrage of riffs and tying it together with flourishes of Symphonic sorcery conjuring a maelstrom of frozen ferocity.
"Kaer Morhen" will be released through Hypnotic Dirge Records on CD / Digital on April 19 and an LP edition will soon follow in June.
lyrics
War comes to Sodden on this weathered plain,
Northern Realms unite as one; Nilfgaard calls for blood
On this war torn battlefield banners flying high
beneath the sign of the Great Sun you will surely die
The Brotherhood of Sorcery
Sends aid for the Northern Realms
With force the earth rose up
and spells of fire rained down,
A final stand for the North,
Bodies burn to the ground,
Nilfgaard blows their trumpets,
Swordsmen come on horses,
Mages thin out their ranks,
Vizimir’s men aren’t breaking,
And Emhyr’s forces are weak,
One more push could break them
And have Coehoorn on his knees,
With morning comes some solace
The battle fades with the night,
Soldiers retreat to safety,
The wounded cry out for aid,
The sounds of grief and anguish
Sour the glory of victory,
For now we must gather them,
Our noble heroic dead,
credits
released February 20, 2024
Bruxa (vocals)
Frosk (instrumentals)
written and performed by Hekseblad.
mixed and mastered by Sean McCormack of Funeral Frog Media. "The Witcher" novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Artwork by Aghy R Parakusuma.
Logo by @Rotting_Reign
Hypnotic Dirge Records is an independent record label and webshop based in Saskatchewan, Canada and Lisbon, Portugal active since 2008. Our intention and raison d'être is to release quality expressive and eclectic art through aural manifestations.
