FAUN – new video released

Photo: Iseris Art

FAUN release new album HEX with focus track “Belladonna” 

Album out now via Pagan Folk Records (Distribution: Believe)

„Belladonna“ is the final single and will be simultaneous released with FAUNs 12th studio album „HEX“, a journey into witchcraft.

The band also says about the song: “Belladonna is a poisonous nightshade and witch’s plant. “Belladonna” comes from Italian and means ‘beautiful woman’. This may be due to the fact that after eating belladonna or even after dripping the juice into your eye, you get large black pupils, similar to the black berries of the plant. It is also said that poachers have used „Belladonna“ to see better in the dark. However, this is a risky undertaking, as „Belladonna“ is very poisonous and an overdose can quickly lead to death.

Its Latin name “Atropa Belladonna” also refers to one of the three Greek goddesses of fate, “Atropos”, who is able to cut the thread of life. This is why she has the reputation of being a beautiful but also very dangerous woman.
This inspired us to write this song, in which we roughly followed the melody of the old Irish folk song “As I roved out” and in which a wanderer is lured deep and perhaps too deep into the forests at night by this seductive enchantress. Similar to the flowers of the belladonna, which only bloom at midnight and exude their sweet scent, he follows the lure of the “beautiful lady” in the darkest night into the garden of the queen and goddess of all witches: Hecate.”

Watch the new video for “Belladonna” here: 

The album title “Hex” is derived from “Hexe” german: witch / ahd. ‘Hagazussa’ (= the one who walks between the worlds). So this twelfth studio album by FAUN is about witches, female healers and wise women. Far away from the cliché of the evil fairytale witch, the german ensemble wants to highlight the various aspects of female magic in different cultures and the legitimate question why we still fear the evil witches instead of the people who burned them.

One focus here is on the Germanic culture. In this sense, the song “Blot” is about the ritual sacrifices of the Vikings in their nature religion and the song “Alfar” is about the elven hills inhabited by spirits.
A second focus of this album is on Celtic and Anglo-Saxon sources. “Nimue”, for example, takes the listener back to the Arthurian legend and tells of Merlin and the sorceress Nimue, who imprisons him in a sacred tree for all eternity. “Lament” is based on a pre-Christian mourning song from the north of England, while “Ylfa Spere” is an Old English spell from the 11th century.
Thematically, but also musically, FAUN combine such early sources with more modern influences. For example, “Hare Spell” is based on a spell recorded by Isobel Gowdie during a witch trial in Scotland in 1662. With “Black Eyed Dog”, on the other hand, FAUN cover a song by singer & songwriter Nick Drake, who died in 1974. Belladonna” takes up an Irish folk song, but combines it with cumbia and reggae rhythms as well as hard rock guitars.

As on their previous album “PAGAN”, FAUN skillfully combine medieval instruments on “HEX”, such as hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, lute, bowl fiddle, harp and flute with modern synthesizers, beats and polyphonic vocals. The result is mystical soundscapes that transport the listener to the respective myths and ancient legends.

FAUN knows how to create catchy and at the same time virtuoso songs and do not shy away from any challenge. In this sense, FAUN collaborates with the dark sound cascades of a “Chelsea Wolfe” on “Nimue”. On “Vals”, on the other hand, the tonality and quarter tones of old Swedish folklore are brought back to life with the help of the two Swedish guest musicians Daniel Pettersson and Daniel Fredriksson, while on “Umay”, FAUN focus on an old Turkish folk song and skillfully set it to music with the Turkish singer Fatma Turgut.

Under the direction of Oliver Satyr (Magister Artium of Medieval Philology), the listener is taken on an entertaining musical journey into the female magic and pagan myths of our history with the help of carefully researched lyrics.

Just like the album “PAGAN”, which entered the German album charts at number 3, ‘HEX’ is also released on the band’s own label “Pagan Folk Records” with the help of the distributor “Believe”. Since 2023, however, FAUN have been signed to the management AISA (e.g. WARDRUNA, ENSLAVED) and booked by COBRA AGENCY (e.g. SLIPKNOT, SABATON), which has already enabled FAUN to achieve numerous highlights in their career since 2023, e.g. major tours in the USA.

FAUN are one of the world’s leading bands for the fusion of medieval instruments with modern music. Their releases have reached top positions in the German album charts (e.g. “Pagan” & “Midgard” 3rd place). They have also been nominated three times for the Echo, Germany’s biggest music award, and have achieved platinum status with their albums “Von den Elben” and gold status with “Luna”.
FAUN have played more than 1000 concerts worldwide and know how to captivate audiences in front of cultural and seated audiences as well as at large festivals such as folk or heavy metal festivals. With a variety of virtuously played medieval instruments, polyphonic vocals and archaic beats, FAUN are a live act that fills large concert halls at home and abroad and always knows how to inspire.
Full of pride and self-confidence, FAUN are certain that they can add an extremely exciting chapter to this success story with “HEX”

Tracklist:
1) Belladonna 4:55
2) Lament 3:40
3) Nimue (feat. Chelsea Wolfe) 4:38
4) Blot 5:13
5) Zauberin 4:40
6) Lady Isobel 3:25
7) Black Eyed Dog (by Nick Drake) 3:37
8) Vals 2:34
9) Ylfa Spere 3:36
10) Hare Spell 4:17
11) Umay (feat. Fatma Turgut) 4:08
12) Alfar 4:53 insg. 49:36

FAUN – World HEX Tour 2025
Europe dates:
20.09.2025 Utrecht, NL
21.09.2025 Paris, FR
27.09.2025 Prague, CZ
28.09.2025 Krakow, PL
29.09.2025 Warsow, PL
01.10.2025 Sint-Niklaas, BE
03.10.2025 Lyon, FR
08.10.2025 Vienna, AT
10.10.2025 Milan, IT
11.10.2025 Zurich, CH
 

Order Tickets here!

About FAUN:
FAUN are one of the world’s leading bands for the fusion of medieval instruments with modern music and have released eleven studio albums since 2002. Their releases reached top positions in the German album charts (e.g.: “Pagan” & “Midgard” #3). They have also been nominated three times for the Echo, the biggest German music award, and reached platinum status with their albums “Von den Elben” and gold status with “Luna”.

FAUN have played more than 1000 concerts worldwide and excite the audience in cultural and seated venues as well as at music events, like for example folk and heavy metal festivals. With a variety of virtuously played medieval instruments, polyphonic vocals and archaic beats, FAUN are a live act that inspires thousands of visitors all over the world.

Line-up:
Oliver Satyr: Vocals, Irish Bouzouki, Moraharpa, Celtic harp, various Lutes
Laura Fella: Vocals, Framedrum
Adaya: Vocals, Bagpipes, Flutes, Pandora, Celtic harp
Stephan Groth: Vocals, Hurdy-gurdy, Flutes, Cittern
Niel Mitra: Sequencer, sampler, synthesizer.
Alex Schulz: Percussion, drums