Prepare to take a journey into the ancient rites of incarnation with the new music video for "The Ascent”, from Karyn Crisis' Gospel Of The Witches.

This track is taken from the latest album, Salem's Wounds, which features occult metal soundscapes that seamlessly soar from evil heaviness to ambient romanticism through soul provoking passages of light and darkness.

On the nature of "The Ascent" specifically and the release of the new video, Karyn Crisis comments: "“The Ascent” is about the transformative ancient rite of Death and Resurrection. It also alludes to the wisdom attained through attuning to the nature of energies which often appear to us as illusions of opposites. To be incarnated again we must first go through the death transition; we must enter the darkness to find the light; to hear the voice of the Universe we must go within, turning attention away from the physical world. Opposites are merely halves of a whole: masculine and feminine energies, the macrocosm and the microcosm, life and death.

“In pen and ink I drew a storyboard of the video that I sent to Bob Vigna, who filmed and edited the entire video. I explained to him I wanted to depict this rite of dying unto oneself, represented by the Hanged Man Tarot card. For our story, I felt it was important to have the male Druids taking action in the first part of the story which is about a seeker in the physical world, and for the female Priestesses to complete the creative inward rebirthing process.

“I was inspired by a story authored by Carlo Napolitano where a character seeking answers to the Great Mysteries was hung upside down on a tree, with a mask tied to his face, gaining a previously unknown view of the world around him as pagan rituals took place around him. Bob elevated these ideas and turned them into a cohesive storyline that's both tangible and earthly, dreamy and spiritual."

Salem’s Wounds contains 13 tracks recorded by Karyn together with Davide Tiso (Ephel Duath), Ross Dolan (Immolation), Mike Hill (Tombs) and Charlie Schmid (Vaura). The album was financed by fans via websites like Indiegogo/Etsy and recorded at The Basement Recordings in North Carolina with producer Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, The Contortionist). The album cover was painted by Karyn herself, who (in addition to her vocal talents) is a respected painter and leatherworker.

 

 

Salem’s Wounds tracklisting:

"Omphalos"
"The Alchemist"
"Ancient Ways"
"Aradia"
"Mother"
"Father"
"Goddess Of Light"
"Howl At The Moon"
"Pillars"
"The Secret"
"Salem's Wounds"
"The Sword And The Stone"
"The Ascent"

“The Alchemist” video:

"Mother":