Witherscape, the progressive death metal outfit consisting of Swedish singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Dan Swanö (ex-Edge Of Sanity/Bloodbath, Nightingale, etc.) as well as fellow Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Widerberg, will release their new album, The Northern Sanctuary, on July 22nd via Century Media Records (July 29th in Italy).

Next to the standard jewel case version, The Northern Sanctuary will also be available as limited edition Mediabook 2CD including the album as “full dynamic mix” and ROM part with instrumentals as its bonus disc. The LP version will come as Gatefold 180gr vinyl release in its “full dynamic mix” and include a poster and the full standard album on CD as bonus. The LP format will be available in the following vinyl options:

Black (unlimited)
Transparent Red (limited to 100x copies, EU webshop)
Clear (limited to 200x copies, EU webshop / CM Distro EU)
Neon Orange (limited to 200x copies, CM Distro USA)

Pre-order various formats at this location.

Check out the track “In The Eyes Of Idols” via a lyric video designed by Cloud Music Typography below.

Dan Swanö on the song and the album’s lyrical storyline: “There is a 50 year jump in the conceptual time line since The Inheritance. The Northern Sanctuary picks up where we left off with the The New Tomorrow EP. The main character "Mannen i vitt" (The man in white) has now restored the house where all the horror initially happened and "Fristaden i Norr" (The Northern Sanctuary) is open for business! He rents out rooms to people from the big cities, who are aiming for some peaceful northern Swedish silence. But the entity still haunts the house and "Mannen i vitt" is possessed by it, so consequently he/it does terrible things to the "patients". Since the house is built on one of the gates to hell, there's a ritual taking place, opening the hellish dimension from where the evil entity once came, so it can go back there…”

Lyricist Paul Kuhr (Novembers Doom) fleshed out the story invented by the band and here are his complimentary own words on the lyrics for "In The Eyes Of Idols": "Daily life in the Sanctuary begins. Breakfast, social interaction, Aqua Therapy. The man in white struggles with his faith and prayer against the conventional methods he uses to cure the sick. Extreme procedures uncover oddities in behavior with the most severely mentally ill. Pushing the patients to their limits uncover “Gifts” within the strong. Unexplainable, and beautiful, powers that Science Fiction is based on. Praying for the answers, the man in white is met with other thoughts…"

Following up on the refreshing impact of 2013’s debut album The Inheritance and 2014’s The New Tomorrow EP, The Northern Sanctuary is yet another mesmerizingly dense conceptual album, enhanced by breathtakingly powerful artwork courtesy of Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák (Nightingale, Destruction, Tyr, etc.), which can be seen below.

Tracklisting:

“Wake Of Infinity”
“In The Eyes Of Idols”
“Rapture Ballet”
“The Examiner”
“Marionette”
“Divinity”
“God Of Ruin”
“The Northern Sanctuary”
“Vila I Frid”

"Wake Of Infinity”:

Once more lyrically supported by Paul Kuhr (Novembers Doom), Witherscape continue the storyline launched with the debut album, as Swanö explains: “The theme picks up where we left off with the The New Tomorrow EP. There is a 50 year jump in the time line from the 1st album and the main character Mannen i vitt (The man in white) has purchased the house where all the horror initially happened. He's restored it and rents out rooms to people from the big cities, who are aiming for some peaceful northern Swedish silence. But the entity still haunts the house and Mannen i vitt is possessed by it, so consequently he/it does terrible things to the "patients". Since the house is built on one of the gates to hell, there's a ritual taking place, opening the hellish dimension from where the evil entity once came, so it can go back there…”

Musically, The Northern Sanctuary manages to seamlessly blend the best elements of the band’s 70’s/80’s prog/hard rock and even AOR roots with contemporary, yet always atmospheric and subtle extreme metal. Its infectious catchiness will doubtlessly appeal to the passionate followers of Swanö’s diverse artistic catalogue, but also to fans of bands like Opeth, Amorphis or Symphony X.