BESVÄRJELSEN release new video single

BESVÄRJELSEN release video single ‘Clouds taken from the new album “Atlas”

BESVÄRJELSEN have launched the video single ‘Clouds’ as the second track taken from their new album “Atlas”. The Swedish forest rockers have previously unveiled the artwork, tracklist, and further details of their sophomore full-length, which can all be viewed below. “Atlas” has been scheduled for release on May 27.

BESVÄRJELSEN comment: “The lyrics are based on a poem that I wrote years ago”, explains singer Lea Amling Alazam. “It dealt with surprise and a shitty relationship. When listening to the music, I knew that I wanted something bombastic, an epic piece of heartbreak music. After living in a chaotic relationship during the pandemic, I could very much relate to the poem again and just adapted it to fit with my current feelings. It turned out to be a great anti-love song, and hopefully also ends up as a big middle finger to my ex. Still, it was fun to record this song, but I will never, ever hit those end notes live.”

Erik Bäckwall continues: “This was actually the very first song I ever wrote in my life”, reveals the drummer. “I have contributed ideas, arrangements and drum stuff before, but I had not written a song from scratch until ‘Clouds’. I wrote it on my phone since I really cannot play guitar except for some chords. I was in a phase when I listened a lot to Paradise Lost (which happens every now and then). I got inspired to write some Paradise Lost-ish music (in particular by their ‘One Second’ album) even though the result does not sound like them at all. ‘Clouds’ had a different verse at the beginning and Lea came up with the vocal lines to that version. Hearing her sing on the demo was my first real ‘holy shit’ moment. At that moment, I knew it was going to be a great song. The second such moment came on hearing Staffan’s guitar solo. Quite late in the game, another big change occurred when Johan changed the arrangement by deleting that verse but keeping Lea’s vocal melody over the intro chords instead. He also added a speck of the drum beat on the second verse. At first I thought that he had just wrecked my song. Well, his instincts were right and his changes made the song better. That’s what really matters, and we ended up with a damn cool song.”

Johan Rockner adds: “This is one of those songs that perfectly fit the album by giving the right dynamics”, writes the bass player. “And Staffan’s solo in the end even took it to a whole new level.”

What to do when you like rock and doom born from the desert but your surroundings offer anything but arid lands? BESVÄRJELSEN found an impressive answer in the grim forests of their homeland in Dalarna, Sweden. Having grown up in the far north at the meeting grounds of ancient Norse and Finnish cultures amongst echoes of runes and gods, shamans and spirits, the spellbinding five-piece crafted their name from the Swedish word for “conjuring” while drawing heavy inspiration from local lore, mysticism, and the dark, old musical traditions.

Yet BESVÄRJELSEN are anything but another “pagan” outfit longing for a time that never was. On their sophomore full-length “Atlas”, aptly named after the mythical Greek titan who literally carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, the Swedes take a huge step toward the perfect wedding of melodic doom with subtle touches of prog as well as punk, folk, and classic rock. The distinctly urban component in the sound of these rockers is very much amplified by the outstanding vocals of Lea Amling Alazam. The charismatic singer took a fresh approach by embracing melodies and phrases of the grunge and emo sounds that defined her youth as well as African and Middle Eastern music – while keeping her characteristic bluesy undertones.

With its wistful melodies and towering riff-power, “Atlas” represents a logical progression along the course that BESVÄRJELSEN charted from the start. The band was co-founded by guitarists and vocalists Andreas Baier and Staffan Stensland Vinrot in 2014 with a clear vision to channel the spirit and traditions of the vast Dalarna forests, a region otherwise famous for its painted wooden horses, into contemporary heavy music. Andreas, coming from a background in punk and hardcore, had realised that by slowing things down, the music of BESVÄRJELSEN would gain in depth while allowing haunting melodies to exist alongside a cathartic heaviness.

Once vocalist Lea Amling Alazam arrived with a fiery passion for punk and stoner rock that had begun at the local skate park when she was just counting 13 years, Andreas and Staffan happily relegated their shared vocal duties to a supporting role – an easy choice as Lea’s distinctive voice summoned the intimacy and charisma of singers like NINA SIMONE or AMY WINEHOUSE.

BESVÄRJELSEN released their debut EP “Villfarelser” a year later in 2015, which was followed quickly by the “Exil” EP in 2016. Around this time, former DOZER and GREENLEAF drummer Erik Bäckwall joined the line-up as a permanent member. Both EPs, though self-financed and released with minimal promotion, were well-received and even gained airplay on Swedish national radio.

The Swedes’ debut full-length “Vallmo” hit the streets of Stockholm and elsewhere in 2018, shortly after Erik had convinced his DOZER and GREENLEAF bandmate Johan Rockner to join BESVÄRJELSEN on bass. “Vallmo” merged crushing riffs and storming drums with increasingly sophisticated melodies and thoughtful themes, which even earned the band a festival slot opening for DEEP PURPLE.

With the mini-album “Frost”, BESVÄRJELSEN intended to crush stages all over Europe in 2019, before being compelled into involuntary live performance hibernation (like every other band around the globe) for two years. Although forced to write separately, the band used the spare time to compile a wealth of ideas, amassed remotely and shared across the miles and months of relative solitude, which would finally result in the recording of “Atlas” with producer Karl Daniel Lidén in 2021.

Re-purposing melancholic harmonies that could have been derived from the playbook of ALICE IN CHAINS, adding gravity that would make Windhand proud, and topping their upgraded sound with exciting yet intimate vocal lines, BESVÄRJELSEN have carved a towering monolith from solid rock and planted it firmly into the magical woods of their homeland to send its heavy lay-lines around the globe.


Line-up
Lea Amling Alazam – vocals
Staffan Stensland Vinrot – guitars, vocals
Andreas Baier – guitars, vocals
Erik Bäckwall – drums
Johan Rockner – bass 

Recording at Studio Gröndal and Studio Glashuset, Sweden
Mix and Mastering by Karl Daniel Lidén

Art and Design by Besvärjelsen and Łukasz Jaszak

Available formats
“Atlas” is available as blue and curacao marble vinyl LP and as Digisleeve CD.

Shop link: http://lnk.spkr.media/besvarjelsen-atlas


Links
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