As the year 2016 wraps up, Swedish progressive death metal duo, Witherscape, looks back to the release of their sophomore full-length album, The Northern Sanctuary, via Century Media Records.

And with many year-end polls mentioning the outstanding quality of this album, a next track off The Northern Sanctuary has now been launched, check out “Marionette” below.

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Dan Swanö (ex-Edge Of Sanity/Bloodbath, Nightingale, etc.), who partners up with fellow Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Widerberg in Witherscape, comments the song as follows: "Sometimes a song can take some unexpected twists and turns and what started out as an acoustic ballad, inspired by a very strange guitar tuning, turned into one of the first shoe-gaze/death/doom/A.O.R. ballads that the world has ever heard. The reactions to this track have been some of the strongest from any other track from any other band I have been in. There are several reports from tears of joy, goosebumps and other pleasant experiences when listening to this track, and if you, just like me, love "Leprosy" by Death as much as Journey's "Frontiers" well, then you are in for a sonic treat ;)"

Swanö also sent over a quick message about the fading year 2016 and a preview for 2017: “My musical highlights from 2016 are… Finishing off and releasing the 2nd Witherscape album The Northern Sanctuary. By far the most satisfying metal experience of my life so far! And also to see that the album even found its way to the #1 spot on some year lists makes all the hard work extra worthwhile!

“There's also a lot of awesome stuff that I mixed in the studio, and I'd love to mention them all, but in order to keep it short I can only recommend you to check out the awesome power-pop of The Sigourney Weavers and hear my mix work on something more traditional for a change! On the gig front, it was a milestone to finally step up on the stage of the mighty Rock Hard festival, with Nightingale!

“2017 has some cool stuff lined up already: Mix work with Rage, Misery Index, God Dethroned, The Project Hate, Entrails and lots more. I probably won't release new albums with any of my own projects. But that doesn't mean that I won't work on some of my own music. If all goes according to plan, I will get more work done on the Second Sky album… and hopefully some more Witherscape.”

Witherscape lineup:

Dan Swanö - Vocals, Keyboards and Drums
Ragnar Widerberg - Guitars and Bass

(Photo - Erik Ohlsson)