Posted on: October 13, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Red hot Swedish rock band WITCHCRAFT has announced a U.S. headlining tour in support of its highly-anticipated new album, The Alchemist. Referred to as “the coolest band in Sweden right now” by a popular UK monthly, WITCHCRAFT will kick off its U.S. tour on October 18 in NYC.

“We’re looking forward to once again crossing the Atlantic, this time to play songs from our new album “The Alchemist,” states WITCHCRAFT vocalist Magnus Pelander. “We are ready for you and we know you are ready for us!” Support on the majority of the WITCHCRAFT tour will come from fast-rising Oakland, CA quartet Saviours.

WITCHCRAFT’s The Alchemist is set to drop on October 23. Recorded 100% pro-tools and digital free at Stockholm’s UpandRunning studios using only vintage amplification, The Alchemist showcases a group of musicians at ease with their playing and songwriting. Addictive melodies flow simultaneously with catchy, heavy riffs, while maintaining a relaxed and laid back feel throughout. The album is already being hailed as “timeless” and “a masterpiece” that “Metalheads, indie fans, and music teachers alike could unite around.”

The WITCHCRAFT tour launch will see the band performing as part of the 2007 CMJ New Music Marathon. WITCHCRAFT has been added to the stellar lineup of the Kemado Records showcase on October 18, joining a hand-picked selection of that label’s finest, and the quartet will follow that with a live set on October 19 at Brooklyn’s Death By Audio. The U.S. tour will hit major markets that, among others, include Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin, TX, where WITCHCRAFT will perform a high-profile live set as part of the Fun Fun Fun Festival on November 3, sharing the stage with Against Me!, The Sword, Neurosis, Explosions in the Sky and more. A full listing of upcoming WITCHCRAFT tour dates follows this message.

WITCHCRAFT, recently cited by Down front man Philip Anslemo and guitarist Pepper Keenan as the inspiration for that group reuniting to record their latest opus, is a hallowed name in underground rock circles. Flying largely under the radar of the popular music landscape previously, the band is now poised on the brink of breakthrough success worldwide. An advance listen to what WITCHCRAFT’s new album holds in store is available now as the record’s smashing tracks “Walk Between the Lines” and “Hey Doctor” have been posted online at this location. Written in a hotel room in Seattle during the fall of 2006, the album’s lead track “Walk Between the Lines” evokes the spirit of the many early seventies British bands which have colored the WITCHCRAFT sound.

“Walk Between the Lines”, according to WITCHCRAFT guitarist John Hoyles, came together simply because the band “wanted to write a short up-tempo song in the old classic rock vein”. He adds, “I think it has an early Wishbone Ash, Stray or Incredible Hog vibe to it. Or that’s what I wanted it to sound like.” Described by frontman Magnus Pelander as being “essentially about not losing yourself and reminding yourself what you enjoy in life”, “Walk Between the Lines” was the first track the band recorded as part of the new album’s sessions and its basic tracks were nailed on the second take.

The final track listing for The Alchemist is as follows:

1.) Walk Between the Lines
2.) If Crimson Was Your Colour
3.) Leva
4.) Hey Doctor
5.) Samaritan Burden
6.) Remembered
7.) The Alchemist (parts 1, 2 & 3)

WITCHCRAFT is available to speak with interested media now. To chat with the band / request a review copy of The Alchemist / attend a live performance, simply contact ACTION! PR via any of the means listed below. Updated WITCHCRAFT news and tour information will be made available via the WITCHCRAFT web domains: www.myspace.com/witchcraftswe and www.witchcrafthome.com, the Rise Above Records website: www.riseaboverecords.com and the ACTION! website: www.action-pr.com.

“Witchcraft makes records in an alternate universe where it’s always 1971” – BOSTONIST

“retro-doom…highly underrated” – POPMATTERS

“psychedelic” – MTV NEWS

“Unlike most albums, “The Alchemist” just gets better as it goes along and with the near 15-minute title epic, the band has cut their finest tune to date. When the band first surfaced, the Sabbath comparisons ran rife…the difference this time is that the Swedes now have the potential to beat the old dogs at their own game” – DECIBEL

“Imagine yourself in a wood-paneled rec room cloaked in incense smoke and crouching on a shag carpet in front of Magnavox speakers hooked up to a turntable, and you’ll be all set to experience Witchcraft.” – GEORGIA STRAIGHT

“Every now and then, an album comes along that you can tell, simply by listening to the first 20 seconds, that it’s going to be a masterpiece. With “The Alchemist,” Witchcraft have moved beyond the musical cubicle of “stoner rock” or “throwback;” they’ve created something timeless, something so absolutely all-encompassing, that it will undoubtedly hold its own against any metal opus or thud-rock masterwork already included in the hard rock canon. Ladies and gents—this is how you do it.” – METRO SPIRIT

WITCHCRAFT: Fall, 2007 U.S. Headlining Tour:

October 18 Brooklyn, NY Luna Lounge (as part of 2007 Kemado Records CMJ showcase w/ Saviours, Danava, etc.)+
October 19 Brooklyn, NY Death By Audio (w/ Steve Moore of Zombi, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc.)
October 20 Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar (w/ Saviours)
October 21 Washington, DC Black Cat’s Backstage (w/ Saviours)
October 22 Baltimore, MD Talking Head Club (w/ Saviours)
October 23 Norfolk, VA The Boot (w/ Saviours)
October 24 Asheville, NC Joli Rouge (w/ Saviours)
October 25 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn (w/ Saviours)
October 26 Savannah, GA The Jinx (w/ Saviours)
October 28 Orlando, FL The Backbooth (w/ Saviours)
October 29 Tampa, FL The Crowbar (w/ Saviours)
October 30 Tallahassee, FL The Boot (w/ Saviours)
October 31 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jack’s (w/ Saviours)
November 1 Houston, TX Rudyard’s Pub (w/ Saviours)
November 2 Dallas, TX Double Wide Bar (w/ Saviours)
November 3 Austin, TX Waterloo Park (as part of the 2007 Fun Fun Fun Festival w/ Against Me!, The Sword, Neurosis, Explosions in the Sky, Saviours and more)
November 5 Phoenix, AZ Casablanca (w/ Saviours)
November 6 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick (w/ Saviours & Danava)
November 8 Los Angeles, CA The Echo (w/ Saviours & Danava)
November 9 Big Sur, CA Brookdale Lodge (w/ Danava)
November 10 San Francisco, CA Slim’s (w/ Saviours & Danava)
November 13 Portland, OR TBA (w/ Danava)
November 14 Seattle, WA TBA (w/ Danava, Wolves in the Throne Room)
November 16 Boise, ID Visual Arts Collective
November 17 Salt Lake City, UT TBA
November 18 Denver, CO 3 King’s Tavern
November 20 Lawrence, KS Replay Lounge
November 21 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews
November 22 Minneapolis, MN TBA
November 23 Milwaukee, WI Cactus Club
November 24 Chicago, IL Double Door
November 26 Pontiac, MI The Crofoot
November 27 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop
November 28 Buffalo, NY Soundlab

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