NIGHTWISH keyboardist TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN's black metal project DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED DROPS 'Black Fog And Poison Wind' single
10-11-2021
After 23 years of silence, Finnish cult black/epic metallers DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED, who feature in their ranks NIGHTWISH keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, are making their comeback with a new full-length album, “Angel Of Carnage Unleashed”, to be released on November 12 via Napalm Records. It features the old horde from the original 1993 lineup, now augmented by Holopainen as a full member of the band and Kai Hahto (also of NIGHTWISH) as session drummer. The record’s final song, “Black Fog And Poison Wind”, is now released.
Stream “Black Fog And Poison Wind” below.
DARWOODS MY BETROTHED on their new single: “This is one of our favourite songs from the new album. Lyrically, it tells the story of the so-called ‘Death March of the Carolinians’ where 3000 soldiers of the Swedish army froze to death when withdrawing from Norway across the fells in the winter of 1718. We chose to approach this topic from an anthropomorphic perspective: the storyteller is the poisonous icy wind which — in the service of the Angel of Carnage — mercilessly murdered the soldiers in the snowy mountains. The story is accompanied with a black metal anthem that combines brutal blastbeat-driven passages with slower and melodic eerie parts featuring choirs and female vocals. We feel that the song captures the atmosphere of the lyric perfectly.“
Watch the previously released “In Evil, Sickness And In Grief” below.
The new full-length contains eight songs written by the three musicians who founded the band in 1993: Pasi Kankkunen, Jouni Mikkonen and Teemu Kautonen (with substantial creative inputs from Holopainen). The lyrics are based on the human history of the Great Northern War of 1700-1721: how Finns experienced the many manifestations of the Angel of Carnage, sent by God to punish them for their sins.
Bassist Teemu Kautonen on the album: “The lyrics are based on the work of the renowned Finnish historian Teemu Keskisarja. His research inspired us both to carefully embed all lyrics in the appropriate historical context and to bring forth the human dimension by focusing on stories of individual people and how they experienced this perhaps darkest period of Finnish history.”
Vocalist/guitarist Pasi Kankkunen adds: “It was very important for us to have the original lineup on the comeback album. We also agreed right at the beginning of the process to share the songwriting in equal proportions — just as we did on the 1996 classic album ‘Autumn Roars Thunder’.”
“Angel Of Carnage Unleashed” track listing:
01. Name The Dead
02. In Evil, Sickness And In Grief
03. Murktide And Midnight Sun
04. You Bitter Source Of Sorrow
05. Where We Dwell
06. In Thrall To Ironskull’s Heart
07. Massacre
08. Black Fog And Poison Wind
09. Outro
Angel of Carnage Unleashed will be available in the following formats:
12P Digipak
2LP Gatefold BLACK (Etching Side D)
2LP Gatefold Crystal Clear (Etching Side D) – limited to 300 copies worldwide
Digital Album
DARKWOODS MY BETROTHED is:
Pasi Kankkunen – vocals, guitar
Jouni Mikkonen – guitar
Teemu Kautonen – bass, backing vocals
Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards
Kai Hahto – drums (session)
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