Witchcraft is a Swedish doom metal band founded in 2000.

History

Formation (2000–2003)

Magnus Pelander (formerly of Norrsken) formed Witchcraft in 2000 in order to record a tribute to

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...

's Bobby Liebling and Roky Erickson. The " No Angel or Demon" single was released in 2002 by Primitive Art Records, which caught the attention of

Lee Dorrian Lee Dorrian (born 5 June 1968) is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later frontman of doom metal band Cathedral. Career During his early teenage years, Dorrian was the editor of a local punk f ...

's label

Rise Above Records Rise Above Records is a London-based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian (of the band Cathedral and formerly of Napalm Death). Founding Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoin ...

, who quickly signed them. A year later, the band were brought back together with Jonas Arnesén taking the place of original drummer Jens Henriksson, and his brother Mats taking Ola's place on the bass.

Debut album ''Witchcraft'' (2004) and ''Firewood'' (2005)

Their debut album, ''

Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

'' (2004), was worked on in a basement studio with vintage equipment, which gave them their very seventies-esque sound. Mats Arnesén left the band almost immediately after the recording was done. Arnesén was also the drummer in the surf trio "The Hollywoods" and 50s style rockers " Eva Eastwood and the Major Keys". In mid-2004, the band toured Europe with

Orange Goblin Orange Goblin is a heavy metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. History Orange Goblin was originally f ...

and

Grand Magus Grand Magus are a three-piece heavy metal band from Stockholm, Sweden that draws influence from classic heavy metal bands and elements of doom metal. Career The band was formed in 1996 under the name ''Smack'' by former Cardinal Fang voca ...

.Witchcraft
at Rock Detector The band recorded their second album, '' Firewood'', in England, which was released on Rise Above in 2005. That same year the band toured the UK in support of

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (also known as COC) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with guitarist Woody Weatherman as the sole const ...

, backed by the "Chylde of Fire" single.

Departure of Arnesén and Henriksson and ''The Alchemist'' (2006–2011)

upright=1.15, Live at Hole in the Sky, Norway, 2006 In mid-2006, Jonas Arnesén left the band and was replaced by original drummer, Jens Henriksson. The band toured the US in latter part of 2006 with Danava. During this tour, on 11 November 2006, Witchcraft performed at the Rock and Roll Hotel in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

For their encore they played

covers ("When the Screams Come" and "Yes I Do") with Bobby Liebling on vocals. Following their US tour they returned to the studio and recorded the single " If Crimson Was Your Colour". This was released on 7" vinyl by Rise Above on 6 November 2006. Following the single Jens Henriksson once again left Witchcraft and was replaced by Fredrik Jansson (formerly of

Abramis Brama The common bream, freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream (''Abramis brama''), is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is now considered to be the only species in the genus ''Abramis''. ...

). Their third album, ''

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

'', was released on 8 October 2007 by Rise Above Records (UK), Leaf Hound Records (Japan), and Candlelight Records (US). Shortly after ''The Alchemist'', Witchcraft released a split 12" with

The Sword The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its t ...

Kemado Records Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002 by Andrés Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp. In 2006 the label released the ''Invaders'' compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard rock ...

. The EP features versions of two previously banned in Sweden songs. They then played the front stage on the one-day Ozzfest 2009. In 2010 Magnus Pelander released a four track solo EP via Svart Records and is currently working on the solo full-length album. Current member Ola Henriksson along with former members John Hoyles and Jens Henriksson formed a new band called Troubled Horse and released a

7" single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

in early 2010. John Hoyles is also in a band with the drummer of

Graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

called Spiders. Jens Henriksson is also in The Wait a band with Joakim Dimberg, bass player for

Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili ...

New label and ''Legend'' (2012–2014)

upright=1.4, Witchcraft performing in 2013 In May 2012, the band announced that they had signed with

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

. Their fourth studio album, ''

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

'', was released in September 2012. The new album marked the recording debut of the band's new members, including Simon Solomon (guitar), Tom Jondelius (guitar), and Oscar Johansson (drums) formerly of TruckFighters, with singer Magnus Pelander focusing only on vocals instead of both vocals and guitar. The new album was released on double

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

, with a special edition purple vinyl limited to 250 hand numbered copies.

''Nucleus'' (2015–present)

Witchcraft released their fifth studio album ''Nucleus'' worldwide on 15 January 2016 via

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' CD/LP (

2004) * '' Firewood'' CD/LP (

2005) * ''

'' CD/LP (

2007) * ''

'' CD/LP (

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

2012) * ''Nucleus'' CD/LP (

2016) * ''Black Metal'' CD/LP (

2020)

Singles/EPs

* " No Angel or Demon" (Primitive Art Records 2002) * "Chylde of Fire" split w/ Circulus (

2005) * " If Crimson Was Your Colour" (Rise Above Records 2006) * Split 12" EP with

(

2007) * "It's Not Because of You" (

2012) *"The Outcast" (Nuclear Blast Records 2015) *"Elegantly Expressed Depression" (Nuclear Blast Records 2020)

Compilation tracks

* "Queen of Bees (live)" on '' Invaders'' (

2006) * "Sweet Honey Pie" on ''Scandinavian Friends, a Tribute to Roky Erickson'' (Fat People Are Harder to Kidnap Records 2007)

Band members

Current members/live band

* Magnus Pelander – vocals, guitar (2000–present) * Jon Vegard Naess – guitar (2017-present) * Eirik Naess – guitar (2017–present) * Vegard Liverod – bass (2017-present) * Anders Langset – drums (2017–present)

Former members

* Ola Henriksson – bass (2000–2003; 2004–2015) * Jens Henriksson – drums (2000–2003; 2006) * John Hoyles – guitar (2000–2012) * Mats Arnesén – bass (2003–2004) * Jonas Arnesén – drums (2003–2006) * Fredrik Jansson – drums (2006–2012) * Simon Solomon – guitar (2012–2015) * Tom Jondelius – guitar (2012–2015) * Oscar Johansson – drums (2012–2015)

Timeline

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witchcraft Swedish doom metal musical groups Swedish stoner rock musical groups Musical groups established in 2000 Musical quartets Occult rock musical groups